Colombia has extradited one of the world’s most wanted criminals, who is known as the ‘Dominican Pablo Escobar’, to the United States of America, where he is to face trial.
Cesar Emilio Peralta, aka ‘El Abusador’ (‘The Abuser’), also known as the ‘Dominican Pablo Escobar’, was wanted in 194 countries before he was finally detained in December 2019 after fleeing the Dominican Republic.
Wilson Ruiz, Minister of Justice of Colombia, said: “He is of Dominican nationality, he has been considered a Pablo Escobar, a person who trafficked drugs through various nations of the world: Venezuela, Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, among others.”
And the First Assistant Federal Prosecutor, Hector Ramirez Carbo, said: “Peralta trafficked approximately 25,000 kilogrammes (55,116 lbs) of cocaine annually, in addition to other substances, and carried out other activities such as money laundering and human trafficking.”
Peralta was extradited to Puerto Rico, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, which said on Wednesday 22nd December: “Today, Colombian authorities extradited Dominican drug lord Cesar Emilio Peralta-Adamez, also known as ‘El Abusador,’ to the United States to face drug trafficking charges filed in the District of Puerto Rico.”
US Attorney W. Stephen Muldro said: “This arrest and extradition underscore the collaboration and cooperation between our law enforcement partners, as well as our commitment and resolve to combat transnational organized crime.”
He added: “We will continue to maximize our multi-agency efforts to bring to justice those who disregard our laws and smuggle drugs into Puerto Rico and the continental United States.”
The US attorney’s office says that Peralta “was the leader of a transnational criminal organization based in the Dominican Republic” that “received multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia and Venezuela and transported these to Puerto Rico and the continental United States.”
Peralta faces life behind bars if convicted.
