US troops 'tried to smuggle cocaine'
Toby Muse in Bogotá
Saturday April 9, 2005
The Guardian

Four US soldiers serving on anti-narcotics missions in Colombia are being held on charges of drug trafficking after the discovery of 35lb (15kg) of cocaine on a military aircraft.
The four, who have not been identified, were arrested at the end of March when their plane landed in Texas after taking off from southern Colombia. A fifth man was released.
Colombian authorities are investigating to see if other members of the US or Colombian military were involved.

Article continues

William Wood, the US ambassador in Bogotá, said the four would not be extradited even if it was proved they had committed crimes on Colombian soil. He said a three-decade old agreement gave immunity to US soldiers serving in Colombia, but stressed: "We do not tolerate corruption."

The news that the soldiers can not be extradited to Colombia, which has sent over 200 nationals to stand trial in the US in the past three years, provoked uproar in congress.

"This agreement must be changed," said Senator Jairo Clopatofsky, of the foreign relations committee. "It's completely unjust that we are sending Colombians abroad to stand trial and we can't request anyone be sent here."

With its four-decade civil war and huge drugs industry, Washington views Colombia as the southern front in the "war on terror" and the battlefield for the "war on drugs".>>>>>more

FIGURES WHATS NEW:

RULES DO NOT APPLY FOR THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION ONLY THE REST OF THE
WORLD COMMUNITY

http://www.guardian.co.uk/colombia/story/0,11502,1455559,00.html?gusrc=rss