Colombia asked China Thursday to reconsider the death sentence of a Colombian convicted for drug trafficking in the communist nation
Harold Carillo Sanchez was sentenced to death by a Chinese court earlier this year after he was found guilty of smuggling 6.6 pounds of cocaine into the capital of Beijing.
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement asking the Chinese government for leniency and to reconsider Sanchez’s sentence.
“Efforts are being made with the People’s Republic of China and Chinese authorities to reconsider the sentence Mr. Harold Carrillo Sanchez,” read the Foreign Ministry’s statement.
The Foreign Ministry also said that they have been in constant contact with Chinese authorities and Mr. Carrillo Sanchez’s family since his arrest in April, 2010.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the consulate of Colombia in Beijing, has been in constant contact with Chinese authorities and the relatives of Mr. Carillo Sanchez since they were notified of his arrest by Chinese authorities.”
While Colombia’s extradition treaties say that Colombians cannot be sentenced to death, the rules change for Colombians who are detained in other countries and therefore are subject to the laws of the respective country.