LatinNews Daily - 19 May 2011

Colombia: US Department of Justice said on 13 May that 14 Colombian paramilitaries recently extradited to the US will be tried on drug and terrorism charges. They face charges including conspiracy to import cocaine, providing material support to a designated terrorist organization, and money laundering, the department said in a statement. The paramilitaries include: Salvatore Mancuso, the former military chief and a founder of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC, the paramilitary umbrella group); Rodrigo Tovar Pupo (alias Jorge 40); Diego Fernando Murillo (alias Don Berna); and Francisco Zuluaga-Lindo (alias Gordolindo). They join Carlos Mario Jiménez, alias Macaco, who was extradited to the US on 7 May. According to the Justice Department, the defendants will be tried in federal courts in the District of Columbia; central and southern Florida; New York; and Texas.