Colombian government signs extradition of Piedad Cordobas brother to the US on drug trafficking charges

The Colombian government has confirmed the forthcoming extradition to the United States of Álvaro Córdoba, brother of Senator Piedad Córdoba, who is wanted by the U.S. justice system for allegedly collaborating with the dissidents of the extinct FARC in cocaine trafficking.

The Minister of Justice, Néstor Ozuna, signed the extradition request last November 18, as it has been reported this Wednesday in the Colombian press, after Córdoba's defense managed to delay the resolution which in September had been ratified by President Gustavo Petro.

Captured in Medellin last February 3, his sister, Senator Piedad Cordoba, denounced that this is a "persecution" against her and her family for her return to politics. "Let them show the evidence that supports this new judicial set-up", she wrote in her social networks.

However, she is being prosecuted by the U.S. justice system for several crimes, including criminal association, possession and trafficking of firearms and explosives. According to the investigation, Córdoba is allegedly part of a criminal organization with ramifications in countries such as Venezuela and Mexico.

The arrest followed the work of a US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent posing as a Mexican drug trafficker, with whom Cordoba held conversations, which were recorded, in which he negotiated the shipment of more than 3,000 kilos of cocaine per month to that country.