BOGOTA — Colombia on Friday extradited an alleged drug-trafficking leader from a FARC dissident faction to the United States, the first such transfer of a senior illegal-armed-group commander under President Abelardo De La Espriella, Reuters reported.
Geovany Andrés Rojas, known as “Spider,” is accused of leading the Border Commands faction of the National Coordinator of the Bolivarian Army, one of several groups formed by ex-FARC fighters who rejected or abandoned the 2016 peace deal. U.S. prosecutors accuse him of drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy tied to alleged operations in Colombia and Ecuador dating to 2017. He was arrested in February 2025 in Bogotá during activities linked to peace talks under former President Gustavo Petro.
De La Espriella, who took office in August, said his administration has carried out 94 extraditions to date. “Colombia will not be a refuge for drug traffickers wanted by international justice,” he wrote on X, pledging to pursue trafficking chains from cultivation to leadership. He has scrapped Petro’s negotiations with illegal armed groups and launched a military offensive to retake remote territory.
Sources: Reuters
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