http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4420329.stm
Colombia ‘will not try US troops’
A group of US soldiers arrested for alleged cocaine smuggling cannot be allowed to stand trial in Colombia, Washington’s envoy to Bogota has said.
Colombian senators have been calling for the men, who were based in the country, to be extradited from the US.
But US ambassador William Wood said the soldiers are immune from prosecution
funny that :mkay:
More than 200 Colombian citizens have been extradited to the US to face trial for drug trafficking, under a bilateral deal between the two countries.
Colombian politicians have asked the government to push for the US to hand over the men, arguing that the extradition agreement works both ways.
“In practical terms, these military personnel committed the alleged crime in Colombia, and according to the extradition treaty, which is bilateral, they should be tried here,” legislator Gustavo Petro said.
The US ambassador in Colombia has said the men cannot be extradited because of an agreement between the two countries signed in 1974.
an agreement with Nixon, huh? I bet that wasn’t iniquitous
He also argued that the men were working for US embassy staff in Colombia and therefore qualify for diplomatic immunity
Five US soldiers were arrested at a US military base in Texas after they stepped off a flight from Colombia on 29 March.
They are suspected of attempting to smuggle 16kg (35 lb) of cocaine on a US military aircraft
that’s some military bag :omg_no:
