Several hundred detained members belonging to Colombia’s numerous criminal organizations are being investigated in the United States with the potential of being extradited, Colombian media reported on Tuesday.
Deputy Prosecutor General Jorge Fernando Perdomo announced on Tuesday that if it is required by the Colombian authorities to extradite the individuals immediately, they will hasten orders to speed up the extradition process, Colombia’s W Radio reported.
The announcement was made upon the presentation of documents regarding the capture of 1,020 individuals belonging to criminal organizations who were captured by authorities this year throughout the country.
A handful of these individuals will be sent to the US under investigative orders for their involvement in various international crimes.
“In the span of the last six months, after the beginning of the modernization of the Prosecutor General’s Office, which included a new investigative methodology, we have obtained important results in one of the areas in which the Prosecutor General’s office focuses its work: the fight against organized crime,” Perdomo said in an announcement on Colombia’s CM& news station.
Among the detained individuals, 458 pertain to the Clan Usuga, also known as “Los Urabeños,” 184 to the Rastrojos, and 358 to other criminal organizations, according to W Radio.
The captured include Luis Enrique Alvarez Murillo, the leader of the Clan Usuga in Cucuta and North Santander, and Hector Fabio Garcia, alias “Chorizo,” a principle leader of the Rastrojos in the Cauca Valley, according to CM&.
FACT SHEET: Rastrojos
Perdomo also indicated that 41 public officers associated with the National Army, the National Police, the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC), and the Technical Investigation Team (CTI) were among the captured, W Radio reported.
The National Director Against Organized Crime, Alvaro Sarmiento, highlighted the importance that the Prosecutor General’s Office has had in the fight against corruption in public institutions.
“The operations against the Clan Usuga counted 14 public servants captured, which means that this criminal band is now the greatest influence on corruption in public institutions,” Sarmiento said according to CM&.
FACT SHEET: Urabeños
“An important point to note is that we are working on dismantling the economic networks of these organizations, and so the focus is not only on capturing criminals but also cutting off the source of their finances. This will clearly permit us to continue advancing and obtaining better results,” Perdomo said.