Colombia's new president orders US extradition of five cartel chiefs

Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella announced that five high-ranking members of drug-trafficking networks will be handed over to U.S. authorities, reversing a suspension imposed by his predecessor. The individuals include Willington Henao Gutiérrez (known as “El Mocho Olmedo”), Carmen Evelio Castillo Carrillo (“Muñeca”), Geovany Andrés Rojas (“Araña”), as well as fugitives Fredy Castillo Carrillo (“Pinocho”) and Gabriel Yepes Mejía (“HH”).

They belong to distinct armed structures: a FARC dissident front under the General Staff of Blocks and Fronts, the Sierra Nevada Self-Defense Forces, and the Southern Community Front of the ELN. Petro had halted the extraditions in 2025 to protect ongoing peace talks, especially after the FCS surrendered explosives and agreed to crop substitution. De la Espriera, speaking from the San Carlos Palace with Justice Minister Iván Cancino, declared that peace must not become a refuge for criminals, aligning his policy more closely with U.S. demands.