Cuba deports key drug suspect to Colombia; extradition to U.S. now expected

(AP) Reputed drug kingpin Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante was deported Thursday from Cuba to Colombia, which plans to extradite him to the United States where is wanted on trafficking and money laundering charges, officials said.

Gomez, an alleged top 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. He fled Colombia after Washington offered a $5 million reward for the capture of Colombia's top drug traffickers.

Cuba's government read an announcement over state television saying that Gomez was turned over to Colombian authorities at 2:23 p.m. local time at Havana's international airport.

Oscar Galvis, a spokesman for the Colombia's DAS intelligence agency, confirmed to The Associated Press that Gomez had arrived in Colombia on a air force flight from Cuba.

The Cuban statement made no mention of Colombia's plans for Gomez. Cuba has no extradition treaty with the United States and harbors some suspects wanted in the United States who are considered political refugees here.

But a Colombian official said Wednesday that an order had already been signed to send Gomez to the United States. He spoke on condition he not be further identified because he was not authorized to divulge the information.

Gomez is wanted on a U.S. indictment in New York on drug trafficking, racketeering and money-laundering charges. When news first broke of the planned deportation Wednesday, U.S. authorities in Bogota and Washington declined to comment on Colombia's plans to extradite Gomez.

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

Gomez's Miami-based attorney, Oscar Rodriguez, told the AP 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.

Shortly after Gomez's arrest, Cuban officials said the reputed drug lord was "in transit" and didn't intend to develop a local drug market there.

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 United States, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

However, many of its top bosses have been captured in recent years and a campaign by the U.S. Treasury Department had succeeded in freezing many of their assets, including front companies.

In March of 2004, Colombian authorities seized US$100 million (euro76.98 million) worth of Gomez's assets including 68 farms, 24 offices and 17 parking lots.

According to prosecutors, Rasguno went from pumping gas at a petrol station in 1991 to declaring property of more than half a million dollars a year later.

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AP writer John rice in Havana, Cuba Bogota contributed to this report.