President Juan Manuel Santos has signed the authorization for the extradition of a former drug cartel leader, local media reported on Thursday.
Ericson Vargas, alias “Sebastian,” former leader of the Oficina de Envigado, was captured in 2012 with two arrest warrants for crimes of conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, forced displacement, extortion and drug trafficking.
MORE: Oficina De Envigado Leader ‘Sebastian’ Captured Outside Medellin
The former leader of the Oficina de Envigado, a crime syndicate operating mostly within Medellin, has been wanted by the Southern district court of New York since September 2011.
PROFILE: Oficina De Envigado
At the time of Sebastian’s capture, Santos stressed the importance of his arrest.
“This means a death blow to the criminal organisation, for drug trafficking and murder for hire which has been called Oficina de Envigado. The group have done a great deal of damage to Antioquia and to rest of the country,” emphasised Santos.
Although Sebastian’s extradition was endorsed in May 2012, his attorney had requested an appeal. This appeal however, has been rejected with the signing of the extradition from Santos.