Letter to Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, Presidente de Colombia - Concerning Drug Kingpin

Letter

Dear President Santos,

As a strong supporter of Colombia I am r4equesting you give heavy consideration to extraditing designated international Drug-Kingpin Walid-Makled Garcia to the United States.

I have discussed this case at length with Ambassador Gabriel Silva. Through these conversations I expressed that as a designated Drug Kingpin, Makled is extremely important to U.S. and regional security and his extradition holds serious foreign policy implications. As a United States Congressman I wanted to relay that this case in particular is being examined closely by many of my colleagues.

Given that you are very familiar with the dangerous threat of drug trafficking, the importance of bringing high level traffickers to justice, and the difficulty in stopping their success when governments are complicit in their actions, I know it is not necessary to explain to you why Makled's case is significant.

As a Congressman representing Florida, this case is even more troubling given that Makled and his cohorts have been utilizing resources from Florida, including major jet aircraft sold at Florida airports, to aid in their drug trafficking activities.

With the understanding that A) Colombia made the arrest of Mr. Makled from a U.S. arrest warrant, B) Colombia received the extradition request from Venezuela before the United States, yet both within the time frame required by the Colombian Government, and C) if Makled is sent to Venezuela his future and the future of those who would be implicated by his testimony is questionable, I am writing to reiterate that such a decision will be viewed very negatively from the U.S. Congress.

My support of Colombia ranges from my first days in Congress, during the height of Plan Colombia, and now as Colombia is continuing to break ground with the Consolidated Strategic Development Initiative and supporting counterdrug efforts in the region. I recently chaired a Western Hemisphere Subcommittee hearing advocating for both the Panama and Colombia Free Trade Agreements where I also held a Mark-up of a resolution I sponsored calling for the passage of the Andean Trade Preference Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA). While some in Congress have begun to question Colombia's friendship with the United States, I have continued pushing for a deeper and broader mutually beneficial relationship between our countries.

I share the frustrations of many Colombians at the lack of movement by the Obama Administration to move forward on the Free Trade Agreement, but please understand that there are many in the Congress who want to see this come to fruition. Security of your nation is paramount to many in Congress, and despite the Obama Administration's signals to the contrary, the threat of Hugo Chavez is taken seriously by many American lawmakers.

It is my hope that you will seriously weigh my concerns as you make your final decision. I look forward to leading a delegation to Bogotá in the near future to meet with you and review the important relationship between our countries, as well as continuing to work together for common causes.

Sincerely,

CONNIE MACK

Member of Congress

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