US asks Colombia to extradite suspects implicated in DEA agent’s murder

(Photo: Handelsblat)

The United States has formally requested Colombia to extradite seven men, suspected of involvement in the June killing of a DEA agent in Bogota.

According to a press release by the Prosecutor General’s Office, Colombia’s Foreign Ministry received the extradition request from a federal court in Virginia on Thursday.

All seven suspects are suspected to be part of a gang allegedly dedicated to robbing taxi passengers and held responsible for the death of James “Terry” Watson, a DEA agent killed in an apparent botched robbery.

MORE: US seeks extradition of 7 suspects in DEA agent’s murder case

Six of the men are charged of aggravated homicide, kidnapping and conspiracy. One suspect is wanted for extradition to respond to obstruction of justice charges.

The DEA has said that Watson was a 13-year veteran of the agency. He had been sent to Afghanistan three times on counter-narcotics trafficking assignments and had previously served in the Army and worked for the U.S. Marshals Service.

Colombian authorities had offered a $26,000 reward for information leading to the perpetrators of the fatal attack on the DEA agent.

MORE: DEA official murdered in Bogota

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