Drug lord ‘Don Mario’ was flown to Bogotá and taken directly to jail
following his capture in northern Colombia in the early hours of
Wednesday morning.
Seven helicopters and a light plane accompanied the former kingpin, previously considered one of the most powerful drug lords in Colombia with a price of 5000 billion pesos on his head, to the Colombian capital.
Speaking at a press conference, Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said ‘Don Mario’ had been found “literally like a dog, curled up in a palm tree… he’d been there for days”. He reportedly did not attempt to resist arrest.
Colombian President Álvaro Uribe was reported to be ‘euphoric’ when he
learned of ‘Don Mario’s’ while in a meeting with Brazilian President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Rio de Janerio, Brazil.
Santos said that ‘Don Mario’ can be linked to around 3,000 murders, committed in order to expand his drug empire.
Dozens of victims, whose families were murdered, or who were forced to flee their homes by ‘Don Mario’s’ paramilitary group expressed their contentment that he had been captured and hoped that they would receive justice and reparation.
Santos said ‘Don Mario’ will not be eligible to benefit from the Justice and Peace Law, which grants advantages, such as reduced sentences, to demobilized paramilitaries who collaborate with justice.
In Washington, Drug Enforcement Administration Chief of Intelligence
Anthony Placido told AP that Rendón is wanted in the United States on
drug-trafficking charges and that the U.S. government would seek his
extradition.
