Colombian authorities asked Brazil to extradite an alleged FARC guerrilla who was arrested twelve days ago in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, El Espectador reported Tuesday.
According to reports, Colombian national Jose Samuel Sanchez was captured in the Amazonian town of Manaus, and is a suspected member of FARC’s 1st Front under the command of leader “Mono Jojoy.”
Sanchez is believed to be responsible for setting up two jungle camps in Brazilian territory, in order to facilitate FARC drug trafficking.
The Brazilian judge in charge of the case in Amazonas said that he would wait for an official report from his country’s federal police before ruling on Sanchez’s extradition.
The alleged guerrilla was arrested along with seven others, two of whom are Colombian.
The international advisor to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said Wednesday that his government would extradite any Colombian guerilla who operates in Brazilian territory.
These statements come after Colombia’s interior minister demanded that Brazil take action against the FARC’s “permanent bases” in the Brazilian jungle, whose existence was publicly revealed on Sunday by a Sao Paulo newspaper.
According to the newspaper O Estado de Sao Paulo, a leaked police intelligence document warns of a FARC presence in the north-Brazilian jungle and claims that the Colombian guerrilla group coordinates the sale of drugs and purchase of weapons from their Brazilian bases.
The FARC have been known to operate guerilla bases in foreign countries in order to avoid confrontations with Colombian armed forces or to do business with partners in neighboring countries.