Colombia sends major drug suspect to US after getting him from Venezuela

July 9, 2013 at 1:40PM

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian officials say they've extradited a major drug trafficking suspect to the United States.

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos has called Daniel Barrera "the last of the great capos." He's known as "El Loco" — Spanish for "The Madman."

National Police Director Jose Roberto Leon says Tuesday's extradition shows other criminals they'd be best off to turn themselves in.

Barrera is wanted in two New York federal court districts on charges related to drug trafficking. He also faces charges in Florida.

He was arrested last September in Venezuela, which shipped him back to Colombia. Officials say he had several cosmetic surgeries and tried to burn off his fingerprints with acid to mask his identity.

Venezuelan officials say they confiscated houses, ranches, a yacht, apartments and 48 cars from Barrera.

about the writer

about the writer

More from No Section

See More
FILE -- A rent deposit slot at an apartment complex in Tucker, Ga., on July 21, 2020. As an eviction crisis has seemed increasingly likely this summer, everyone in the housing market has made the same plea to Washington: Send money — lots of it — that would keep renters in their homes and landlords afloat. (Melissa Golden/The New York Times) ORG XMIT: XNYT58
Melissa Golden/The New York Times

It’s too soon to tell how much the immigration crackdown is to blame.