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Cuba deports alleged drug boss to Colombia

Cuba has deported reputed drug kingpin Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante to Colombia, which plans to extradite him to the US to face trafficking and money laundering charges, officials said.

Gomez, an alleged boss of the Norte del Valle cartel known by his alias "Rasguno," had been held in Cuba since his 2004 arrest at Havana's main airport.

REWARD

He fled Colombia after Washington offered a US$5 million reward for the capture of that country's top drug traffickers.

Cuba's government said Gomez was turned over to Colombian authorities on Thursday at Havana's international airport.

Oscar Galvis, a spokesman for Colombia's DAS intelligence agency, told reporters that Gomez arrived in Colombia on an air force flight from Cuba.

The Cuban statement did not mention Colombia's plans for Gomez. Cuba has no extradition treaty with the US and is home to some people wanted in the US but considered political refugees in Cuba.

But a Colombian official said on Wednesday that an order had already been signed to send Gomez to the US.

He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to divulge the information.

Gomez is wanted on a US indictment on drug trafficking, racketeering and money-laundering charges.

BAD PRISON CONDITIONS?

His extradition appears to be more a result of his desire to get out of Cuban jail than a desire by Havana to improve its relations with Washington. Last year, Gomez expressed to Colombian media his desire to leave the Cuban jail even if it meant extradition to the US.

He would be the most senior reputed drug boss extradited to the US since Cali cartel chief Miguel Rodriguez Orejuela was handed over in March 2005.

MOST POWERFUL CARTEL

The Norte del Valle cartel, the most powerful traditional drug organization in Colombia, is believed to account for as much as 60 percent of the cocaine consumed in the US, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

However, many of its top bosses have been captured in recent years and a campaign by the US Treasury Department has succeeded in freezing many of of the cartel's assets, including front companies.

In March of 2004, Colombian authorities seized US$100 million worth of Gomez's assets, including 68 farms, 24 offices and 17 parking lots.

Prosecutors say that Rasguno went from pumping gas at a gas station in 1991 to declaring property worth more than US$500,000 a year later.

Gomez's Miami-based attorney, Oscar Rodriguez, told reporters on Wednesday he had no information on the deportation and would not answer questions about Gomez's intentions until he has had a chance to speak with his client.
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