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May 31, 2019

Colombia Releases Ex-Guerrilla Leader Wanted by the U.S. on Drug Charges
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Colombia's Supreme Court has ordered the release of Jesús Santrich, a
senior guerrilla commander turned elected official, saying the former
rebel could be sworn in as a congressmember under the terms of
Colombia's 2016 peace accord, which ended more than a half-century of
civil war. The agreement grants limited amnesty to FARC rebels who lay
down arms and confess crimes-including immunity to extradition. Santrich
had been jailed at the request of the Trump administration, which is
seeking to try him for cocaine trafficking based on an indictment by
federal prosecutors in New York. Santrich's release was a rare rebuke of
the Trump administration by the right-wing government of President Iván
Duque.


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