A state official in Colombia was arrested in his home and is now facing extradition to the United States, the Daily Mail reported Thursday.
Kevin López was secretary of government and acting mayor of Maicao, a small city about 20 miles from the Venezuelan border, at the time of his arrest. Authorities said he was nabbed Wednesday at his home Riohacha, the capital of La Guajira province. He's wanted in the Southern District of Florida for allegedly conspiring to commit a crime and drug trafficking.
A local news outlet reported that López had been under investigation for two years, during which time authorities had seized more than six tons of drugs, several firearms, and arrested 36 suspects from three countries.
The Colombian Attorney General's Office said López, "as a presumed member of an illegal organization and based on information provided by the U.S., would have sent narcotics in boats that initially arrived in the Dominican Republic."
Authorities say he was involved in drug trafficking activities between 2021 and 2022 out of La Guajira.
According to the report, López was backed by a Marxist-Leninist guerilla group known as The National Liberation Army.
The mayor's office noted that López was removed from the post of acting mayor after his arrest, saying, "This decision was made in order to guarantee trust and credibility in municipal administration and to ensure that public management is carried out with the greatest possible transparency and efficiency."
Kate McManus ✉
Kate McManus is a New Jersey-based Newsmax writer who's spent more than two decades as a journalist.
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