Pubdate: Mon, 27 Dec 2004 Source: Miami Herald (FL) Copyright: 2004 The Miami Herald Contact: http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/262 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine) COLOMBIAN COCAINE SUSPECT IN CUBA, OUT OF U.S. REACH Charged In Cuba With Using a False Passport, a Reputed Colombian Drug Trafficker Is Beyond The Clutches Of Colombian and U.S. Authorities. BOGOTA - Even as Colombia extradites a record number of drug traffickers to the United States, one reputed capo is eluding capture and extradition in an unusual way: He is being held in Cuba on a charge of using a false passport. Havana has been slow to move on the charge against Hernando Gomez, and Colombian authorities say they have no news on their request for his extradition to Bogota to face charges here. Now, some of Gomez's associates have told The Herald that they suspect that Gomez may have bribed his way into an extended stay in Cuba so he could avoid a Colombian prison and later possible extradition to the United States. "There's a long history of the Cuban government taking money . . . to give criminals refuge," said a State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. "We hope the Cubans do the right thing in this case." Gomez is said to be part of Colombia's Norte del Valle drug cartel, which allegedly accounts for 60 percent of the cocaine reaching U.S. streets. The U.S. Justice Department has indicted Gomez and eight other alleged cartel members, and many of its leaders were extradited to the United States in recent years. Some of those extradited have cooperated with U.S. prosecutors, sowing fear and chaos among those remaining and triggering an intra-cartel squabble that has left close to 1,000 dead in the last year and forced many capos to flee Colombia. *EXTRADITION SOUGHT* Colombian and U.S. authorities would not discuss the Gomez case on the record. But Colombia, which has an extradition treaty with Cuba, has officially requested his immediate return to Bogota. Gomez would most likely be sent on to the United States. Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has extradited nearly 200 drug trafficking suspects to the United States in two years, far surpassing his predecessors. Cuba's top anti-drug official, Gen. Jesus Becerra, told reporters in October that Gomez was "in transit" when he was captured there in early July and did not intend to use Cuba to ship drugs. Gomez is charged with carrying false documents, a relatively minor crime. There has been no official word on what jail he is being held in, or even whether he has been brought to trial and sentenced. Associates of Gomez say that his wife and top lieutenants have been allowed to visit him in Cuba, and that he is believed to be managing his drug trafficking operations from the island. Cuba has a mixed record on its handling of foreigners wanted for crimes abroad, at times deporting them immediately, at times keeping them for extended periods. In 1999, Cuba signed an agreement with Bogota to extradite 50 Colombians suspected of drug trafficking who were jailed in Cuba. It has extradited others to Mexico, most notably Mario Villanueva, a former governor of Quintana Roo wanted for drug trafficking in Mexico, and Carlos Ahumada, who was sought on corruption charges. But Cuba has also sheltered suspected criminals. At last look, more than 70 fugitives wanted in the United States for charges ranging from murder to hijacking to grand theft were thought to be living in Cuba. Washington and Havana do not have an extradition agreement. HELD IN CUBA The U.S. fugitives in Cuba include financier Robert Vesco -- now in a Cuban jail after being convicted of defrauding the Cuban government -- and suspected cop-killer Joanne Chesimard. Now, U.S. officials say, it is beginning to look as if another one has slipped under Cuba's protection. - --- MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager