SUPREME COURT APPROVES DON BERNA'S EXTRADITION;

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 008495

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2005
TAGS: KJUS PGOV PREL PTER CO AUC
SUBJECT: SUPREME COURT APPROVES DON BERNA'S EXTRADITION;
URIBE HAS FINAL SAY

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) On September 7, Colombia's Supreme Court approved the
U.S. extradition request for paramilitary commander Diego
Murillo, AKA "Don Berna," and transmitted the case to the
President for his decision. The approval occurred in much
less than normal time for such a decision (less than a third
of the time the Simon Trinidad extradition took for example).
The USG seeks his extradition for narcotrafficking crimes
committed after 1998. Berna has been a key negotiator for
the United Self-Defenses of Colombia (AUC),and is currently
involved in the U.S.-supported paramilitary demobilization
process. In private, President Uribe has expressed his
reluctance to extradite leaders who are actively advancing
the peace process.


2. (U) Following a highly-publicized GOC hunt for Don Berna
in May, the GOC placed him under house arrest on a farm in
the municipality of Piedras de Valencia, Cordoba Department.
In July 2004, the GOC suspended arrest warrants for
negotiating paramilitaries to encourage their full
participation in the peace process. The suspended arrest
warrant for other AUC leaders effectively postponed
extradition proceedings for them, but Don Berna's house
arrest status allowed his extradition process to proceed.


3. (C) President Uribe suspended a decision on AUC leader
Salvatore Mancuso's extradition, saying that his cooperation
in the peace and demobilization processes made immediate
extradition inappropriate.

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COMMENT
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4. (C) The Supreme Court may have set a political trap for
Uribe whether by design or not. Don Berna is a key player in
the paramilitaries now and maintains much influence over
others in the paramilitary groups. If Uribe extradites him,
the GOC risks a severe backlash. The slow pace of
reintegration of paramilitaries due to resource constraints
could mean the peace process is at least partially
reversible. If Uribe does not extradite Don Berna, he may be
seen as cooperating with paramilitaries and he may risk
charges from NGOs and the Colombian left (normally not/not
friends of extradition) that his government is not
prosecuting the paramilitaries. End Comment.
WOOD