Colombia extradites first paramilitary boss to U.S

By Hugh Bronstein

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombia extradited Carlos "Macaco" Jimenez to the United States on Wednesday, making him the first right-wing paramilitary boss to face U.S. justice for drug trafficking.

The move threatens to increase tension with other former paramilitary chiefs who are jailed in Colombia but are suspected of continuing to command cocaine-smuggling and extortion organizations from behind bars.

The militias, formed in the 1980s to fight left-wing guerrillas, have demobilized over the past four years under a peace deal in which they turned over their guns in exchange for benefits including reduced prison sentences and an agreement that they would not be extradited.

But Colombia accused Jimenez of violating the terms of the peace accord by ordering crimes from his jail cell.

His extradition came as Democrats in the U.S. Congress demand that conservative President Alvaro Uribe do more to control paramilitary influence over criminal gangs before the lawmakers can back a U.S.-Colombia free trade deal.

Television news reports showed the bearded and bespectacled Jimenez getting ready for his early-morning flight to Washington, a bulletproof vest covering his cream-colored sweater.

"This was a smart move by Uribe," Bogota-based security analyst Pablo Casas said of Jimenez's extradition. "It sends a message to emerging criminal groups, commanded by former paramilitaries, that the government will be tough on them. It also shows U.S. Democrats that Uribe is serious about confronting the paramilitaries."

They were first organized as private militias by drug-smugglers, cattle ranchers and other rich Colombians trying to protect themselves from land grabs and kidnappings by rebels who are still fighting the state.  Continued...