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Drugpusher sought by US arrested
in Colombia
Colombian police on Thursday
arrested suspected drugpusher
Gabriel Puerta who was related
to a drug cartel in the
southwest Valle del Cauca
department.
Puerta was captured in a rural
area of La Vega, central
department of Cundinamarca,
Police Commander Jorge Castro
said.
A federal court of the United
States has issued an extradition
petition for Puerta on a count
of drug trafficking.
The Attorney General's office on
Thursday will decide whether
Puerta will be sent to the
United States or stand trial in
Colombia.
Since President Alvaro Uribe
took office in August 2002, over
200 people have been extradited
to the United States.
Meanwhile, Colombian marines on
Thursday seized 2.5 tons of
cocaine which belongs to the
paramilitary of the United
Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.
The cocaine was found
underground in northeastern
department of Sucre, official
sources said.
Colombia is a major cocaine
producer in the world, which
grows about 600 tons a year and
the majority of the drug is
shipped to the United States,
the world's largest cocaine
consumer.
Rainstorm
kills two children in El
Salvador
Two children were killed by
torrential rains Thursday in
south El Salvador and numerous
inhabitants were forced to leave
their homes, reports reaching
here said.
The Salvadoran authorities said
Thursday that the two dead
children were brother and sister
who were washed away by the
torrent of overflowed San
Antonio de Santa Tecla River.
In the capital, the downpour
hindered the sewage system in
different parts of San Jacinto
area, where numerous residents
evacuated from their homes.
Brazil urges to resolve crisis
in Guinea-Bissau
Brazil urged the international
community on Thursday to work
together to defuse the military
crisis in Guinea-Bissau.
"The Brazilian government
learned, with worry, about rebel
military movements acting
against the democratic
government of Guinea-Bissau,"
the Brazilian Foreign Ministry
said in a statement.
The ministry said Brazil would
work with the United Nations "to
provide the necessary support
for the political stability of
Guinea-Bissau, the consolidation
of democracy and the resumption
of the country's socio-economic
growth."
Brazil also expected the
Community of Portuguese-Speaking
Countries (CPLP), the African
Union and the Economic Community
of the West African States to
play an important role in
resolving the crisis.
On Wednesday, mutinous soldiers
killed Guinea-Bissau's military
chief General Verissimo Correia
and the armed forces information
minister in a predawn attack on
the country's capital, Bissau.
They demanded the government pay
them immediately for their
peacekeeping duties in
neighboring Liberia.
With a population of about 1.5
million, Guinea-Bissau has had
ahistory of political
instability since its
independence in 1974.
Soldiers have repeatedly
revolted against civilian
authorities in recent years. A
coup attempt was thwarted by
troops loyal to the government
in 2001. In September last year,
Seabra led a bloodless coup
which ousted former President
Kumba Yala from power.
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