Colombian authorities confirmed this Thursday that brothers Rafael and Enrique Noguera, relatives of a Colombian prosecutor, have been extradited to US territory for alleged drug trafficking.
Both were arrested in September 2019 and accused by the United States Government of being part of a network dedicated to the cocaine trafficking. The two are relatives of the prosecutor Ana Catalina Noguera, director of the group against criminal finances in the Colombian Attorney General’s Office.
Her arrest, according to information in the newspaper ‘El Tiempo’, drew attention in Santa Marta, Magdalena, where they were known cattlemen. On March 20, the Supreme Court of Justice endorsed the extradition request presented by the Administration of US President Donald Trump, which subsequently received the approval of the Colombian president, Iván Duque.
The lawyer Pedro Nel Escorcia, who represents the Noguera brothers, has assured that they will appear before a court in the state of California and has clarified that in Colombia they have no open proceedings against them.
The two will appear virtually from the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center, where they will remain isolated for 14 days after their arrival in compliance with the protocols imposed to stop the advance of the coronavirus.
The Noguera brothers tested positive for COVID-19 on October 15, a fact that has been notified by their defense to the relevant authorities. Until now, they have been held in La Picota prison in Bogotá.
