HomeNewsBriefColombian Carpenter Nearly Extradited to U.S. By Mistake
BRIEF

Colombian Carpenter Nearly Extradited to U.S. By Mistake

COLOMBIA / 12 SEP 2014 BY KYRA GURNEY EN

A carpenter in Colombia has been released from prison after being wrongly accused of running a money laundering operation, a case that highlights issues in the way the United States and Colombia handle extradition cases that create the potential for error.

Ariel Josue Martinez Rodriguez, a humble carpenter from the province of Caqueta, was released from prison on September 11 after the US Department of Justice rescinded its extradition request, reported El Espectador.

Martinez had been arrested on March 18 after a US court accused him of running a money laundering operation for drug traffickers. According to Semana magazine, he only narrowly avoided being extradited – the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) had already sent a plane to pick him up before US authorities recognized the mistake.

In an interview with El Pais, Martinez stated that he thought law enforcement officials were joking when they told him he was wanted by US authorities. Although he was accused of laundering $800,000 through a sophisticated electronic system, Martinez claimed he did not even know how to turn on a computer.

The reversal of the extradition request came after Colombian authorities asked the US Department of Justice to review Martinez's case. In total, Martinez spent almost six months in jail.

InSight Crime Analysis

Martinez's case highlights the dynamics in extradition proceedings that leave room for mistakes and lead to the perpetration of injustices. In the United States, the DEA is under considerable pressure to produce results in order to obtain congressional funding, and one of the ways these results are measured is through the number of extraditions. This dynamic creates an incentive for the DEA to extradite as many individuals as possible, which facilitates wrongful accusations, cases of mistaken identity, and the extradition of minor players in the drug trade.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of Extradition

On the Colombian side, authorities are responsible for verifying that the requirements for extradition are met in a given case. There is also considerable pressure on Colombian authorities to facilitate extraditions, however, since the United States is a major trading partner and security ally.  

Martinez's case is not an isolated incident. There have been several other cases of wrongful accusations and mistaken identities in Colombia that have led to the extradition of innocent individuals. These include the cases of two banana vendors accused of participating in money laundering operations, and that of a small farmer who was mistakenly identified as a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) commander. 

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 14 JUN 2022

The Colombian army has killed two more important dissident FARC leaders in the north and the west of the country.

COCAINE / 4 MAY 2022

A shootout involving French police and suspected cocaine traffickers in the northern city port of Le Havre has dramatically underscored…

BOLIVIA / 25 JUL 2022

Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, has gradually become one of South America's main criminal threats, with Chile its latest target.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…