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C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 006278 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2010 
TAGS: MARR PRGOV PREL PTER CO
SUBJECT: EXTRADITION PROCESS ON TRACK FOR FORMER PARAS 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer. Reason: 1.4(b,d) 
 
¶1. (C)  Minister of Interior and Justice Carlos Holguin 
announced August 24 the transfer of Carlos Mario Jimenez 
(alias "Macaco") from Itagui prison in Medellin to the 
maximum security Combita prison near Bogota for conducting 
drug trafficking activities from prison. The Fiscalia has 
approved his provisional arrest warrant for extradition, 
which will be served August 27.  He would be the first 
paramilitary to lose eligibility under the Justice and Peace 
Law (JPL). 
 
¶2.  (C)  Holguin also announced the transfer of Diego 
Fernando Murillo Bejarano (aka "Don Berna") to Combita as a 
"security precaution."  Outgoing Department of Administrative 
Security (GOC intelligence agency) director Andres Penate 
told us August 24 Don Berna will likely be extradited to the 
U.S. within the next two weeks due to his continuing 
involvement in criminal activity.  President Uribe 
subordinated our July 2004 extradition request for Berna on 
drug and money laundering charges in September 2005 because 
of Berna's key role in the paramilitary peace process.  The 
U.S. has extradited 87 individuals from Colombia this year, 
bringing the total to 583. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Penate said the GOC needed to satisfy specific 
Colombian legal requirements before extraditing Berna. 
Complying with these steps would strengthen Uribe's political 
and legal position.  Penate said the GOC must provide five 
days notice to citizens subject to an extradition order 
before it can extradite them.  It will take the GOC several 
days to prepare the paperwork; notification to Berna is 
unlikely to occur before August 31. He said the GOC also 
would open a criminal case against Berna at the Fiscalia to 
bolster its claim Berna had continued to engage in criminal 
activity.  Berna would be the first paramilitary leader whose 
extradition request was subordinated by Uribe to be 
extradited. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Penate said Uribe is committed to extraditing Don 
Berna as soon as these legal steps are completed. The only 
risk is that Berna's lawyers will exploit the five days to 
find a friendly judge who would issue an order blocking 
extradition.  Penate said the DAS had passed intelligence 
reports implicating Don Berna in several murders in Medellin 
and Cartagena, but lacked legal proof.  Uribe's decision to 
move against Berna was provoked by an anonymous letter that 
was passed to him by a trusted source. The letter was 
addressed to Castano's wife and claimed Berna and Macaco were 
involved in Vicente Castano's murder earlier this year. It 
also warned Castano's wife to leave the country. DAS records 
showed she left Colombia three weeks ago. 
Nichols