Alleged Venezuelan Drug Traffickers Extradited to the U.S.

2010-09-22 12

Alleged drug lords Omar Guzman and Jaime Marin are extradited from Venezuela to the United States. It comes on the same day that the U.S. published a report saying that Venezuela has failed to effectively fight drug trafficking.

Venezuela deported Jaime Alberto "Beto" Marin, the alleged boss of the Norte del Valle drug cartel in neighboring Colombia, to the United States on Monday. Accused drug trafficker Omar Guzman was also extradited.

Wearing handcuffs and bullet proof vests, the two men were escorted under high security to an airplane which flew them out of the country. Marin, 48, was captured on September 16th in an anti-narcotics operation on the Caribbean Margarita Island.

This was the same day the U.S. published a report that included Venezuela on a list of countries that have failed in their obligations to fight drug trafficking.

The Minister of the Interior and Justice Tarek El Aissami criticized the White House report and said Venezuela has gone through the proper channels and has exported various accused criminals over the course of several years.

The U.S. has sought the capture of Marin in connection to drug trafficking and money laundering charges since 2007, and Guzman is wanted for making drug shipments to the U.S.