Colombian awaits US extradition in Argentina, accused of laundering billions in cocaine money

[Judi Lynn]

Colombian awaits US extradition in Argentina, accused of laundering billions in cocaine money
ALMUDENA CALATRAVA

Associated Press Writer

6:48 p.m. EDT, June 11, 2010

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A suspected Colombian drug trafficker who operated under the radar for years in Argentina was described Friday as a ringleader capable of giving direct orders to Colombia's most-wanted cocaine kingpins and with close ties to Mexico's feared Sinaloa cartel.

Luis Caicedo Velandia was arrested as he walked near a Buenos Aires shopping mall April 12 and has been held under extremely high security, according to Argentine authorities, who did not reveal his capture until the United States formally filed a request for his extradition this week.

Caicedo, a former Colombian police official who carried a false Guatemalan passport, is responsible for moving tons of cocaine into the U.S. and laundering billions of dollars in profits, Argentine drug prosecutor Guillermo Marijuan told The Associated Press.

The arrest of Caicedo and three alleged co-conspirators in the United States and Colombia has exposed "one of the most powerful drug trafficking rings on the continent," Oscar Naranjo, who directs Colombia's national police force, told the AP in Bogota. Caicedo, he said, was "capable of giving direct orders" to Colombian cartel leaders.

More:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-lt-drug-war-argentina,0,5024931.story