The United States will request the extradition of four children and the sister of former Cali cartel boss Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and 33 others who were arrested on Wednesday, U.S. ambassador to Colombia William Brownfield said on Thursday.
Miguel Rodriguez and his brother Gilberto Rodriguez, heads of the huge Valle de Cauca drug cartel, were extradited to the U.S. in 2005.
They agreed to declare all their properties and goods, worth about 2 billion U.S. dollars, in exchange for exemption from legal prosecution of their relatives in Colombia.
However, the U.S. authorities claimed that the brothers had breached the agreement.
"What I can say is that, part of the trail and sentence of the Rodriguez brothers in the U.S. was the result of a compromise between the legal and justice systems of both countries, yet they (the brothers) did not abide by the agreements," Brownfield said.
Among the 38 detainees were three sons and a sister of the Rodriguez brothers, as well as lawyers, accountants and people accused of money laundering. (Xinhua)
