Reply #18: CNN: Colombian warlord pleads not guilty to drug trafficking [View All]

[Judi Lynn]

updated 8:43 p.m. EDT, Wed May 7, 2008
Colombian warlord pleads not guilty to drug trafficking

From Terry Frieden
CNN



WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A leading Colombian paramilitary leader pleaded not guilty to drug-trafficking charges Wednesday in a U.S. court after his extradition from Colombia.
(snip)

It's really a very hard blow for thousands of people in Colombia," said Ivan Cepeda. "This man is guilty of many forced disappearances, of having had important connections with political and economic sectors in many parts of the country. And now it is necessary to make extra effort to ensure that this justice and this truth can be obtained in other countries."

Several relatives said they were hoping that Jimenez might reveal information that would lead them to the bodies of their loved ones.

"Macaco had given me a little light of hope that he'd tell me where my dear ones were, but today we don't know what will happen," said Amparo Cano, a member of the victims' association.

"I take it with sadness and anger because they passed over the heads of the victims, and we have been the people most affected," said Alejandra Valbin, another member of the group.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/05/07/colombia.extradition/index.html