A leftist rebel accused of participating in the killing of three Americans here in 1999 was extradited Wednesday, marking the first time Colombia has turned over a guerrilla to face justice in the United States. Nelson Vargas Rueda, 33, a member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, was shown on television surrounded by more than two dozen Colombian police officers as he was led away handcuffed from a Colombian maximum security prison. The FBI “is taking him away in a charter airplane to the United States,” said Col. Mario Gutierrez, director of Colombia’s judicial police. Vargas Rueda’s extradition is the latest sign that Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has become one of the United States’ closest allies in troubled South America, where several leaders have been elected recently after distancing themselves from unpopular U.S. economic policies. Full Story
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