Colombia extradites top rebel commander to US in first under new president, sources say

BOGOTA, Sept 25 - Colombia has extradited an alleged drug-trafficking leader from a dissident faction of the former FARC rebel group to the United States, three police sources told Reuters on Friday.

The transfer marks the first extradition of a senior commander from an illegal armed group under President Abelardo De La Espriella, who took office in August.

Geovany Andres Rojas, better known as "Spider," is accused of leading the Border Commands faction of the National Coordinator of the Bolivarian Army (CNEB), one of several groups formed by ex-FARC fighters who rejected or abandoned a 2016 peace deal with the government.

Under heavy security at a Colombian National Police air base in Bogota, Rojas was handed over to U.S. officials, the sources said.

US prosecutors accuse Rojas of drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy tied to alleged operations in Colombia and Ecuador dating back to 2017.

De La Espriella, a 49-year-old right-wing lawyer, reversed the negotiation strategy of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro. Since taking office he scrapped peace talks with illegal armed groups, including some FARC dissident factions, and launched a military offensive to retake remote mountain and jungle territory.

Authorities say those groups finance themselves through cocaine trafficking, illegal mining and extortion. REUTERS