The president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, has raised the total of extraditions to 70 during his first 32 days at the head of the Executive, emphasizing that the country "will not be a refuge for criminals" nor a scene of "impunity".
"With those signed today, we complete 70 extraditions in just 32 days of mandate," the head of State pointed out in a message disseminated on social networks, where he reiterated that one of his "favorite sections of government management" is the "relentless" signing of extradition requests.
Immediately after, the far-right leader declared himself "determined to take all mechanisms of international cooperation to the highest level" with the aim of combating organized crime, drug trafficking, and terrorism, "without hesitation and with absolute adherence to the law".
"We are fighting head-on, doing what is legally required and leaving an unequivocal message: Colombia will not be a refuge for criminals nor a territory of impunity," De la Espriella insisted while defending his strategy in matters of security and justice.
In the same vein, the Minister of Justice, Iván Cancino, who, in statements to the press, avoided providing specific identities of the individuals affected by the latest extradition orders, claimed that it is "a daily issue, non-stop," processed together with the Supreme Court of Justice and the states that formulate the requests, within the constitutional framework.
Extraditions of former peace negotiators
Among the extraditions authorized during this period by the president stand out those ordered at the end of August against five members of armed groups who acted as peace negotiators in the dialogues promoted by his predecessor in the Casa de Nariño, Gustavo Petro.
"I have ordered the effective delivery and extradition to the United States of five citizens, whose extraditions had already been granted by the National Government during 2025, but whose delivery remained suspended due to the participation of these individuals as representatives in various processes, tables, or spaces of dialogues carried out by the previous government," he announced then at a press conference.
Among them is Geovany Andrés Rojas, alias 'Spider', leader of the dissidence 'Comandos de la Frontera', arrested in the midst of talks with the Petro Government for his involvement in the shipment of cocaine to the United States. Also Willinton Henao Gutiérrez, alias 'The Mutilated Olmedo', who was second in command of Front 33 of the dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), and Carmen Evelio Castillo Carrillo, alias 'Doll', leader of the Self-Defense Conquerors of the Sierra Nevada, all of them already in custody.