SALVATORE MANCUSO

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio is calling on the Biden administration to reject Colombia’s request for extradition of a former warlord after he was named a peace envoy in the South American nation.

His lawyers have 14 days to challenge the deportation order. Mancuso's removal to Italy, where he also has citizenship, was ordered by the Department of Homeland Security in April after he completed in March a 12-year sentence for cocaine trafficking. Just a week ago, Justine Department attorneys reaffirmed before a Washington, D.C. federal court the Trump administration's pledge to remove Mancuso to Italy no later than Sept. 4. Mancuso can still prevent his removal to Colombia if granted asylum in the U.S. like his ex-wife and youngest child. His lawyers contend that others still in power have not hidden their desire to find a Colombian court to order Mancusos arrest in an effort to silence him.

MIAMI A lawyer for a former Colombian paramilitary leader is asking a U.S. federal court to force Attorney General William Barr to immediately deport the former warlord to Italy after he completed a long drug sentence. The emergency petition was filed Monday in Washington, DC federal court on behalf of Salvatore Mancuso, the former top commander of the United Defense Forces of Colombia, known as the AUC. It comes as Colombia is mounting a last-minute campaign to block Mancuso's removal to Italy after it bungled an extradition request that had to be withdrawn last month. He and his family are terrified with his possible return to Colombia, Mora wrote to ICE officials on March 27 the same day Mancuso completed a 12-year sentence in the U.S. for cocaine trafficking. To expedite the removal, the Mancuso family also offered to purchase tickets for two ICE officials that were required to escort the ex-felon.

The carnage was made worse by U.S. demand for Colombian cocaine, which funded illegal armed groups including Mancuso's United Defense Forces of Colombia, known as AUC. With me they extradited the truth, Mancuso told Colombian media shortly after his arrival in the U.S. in 2008. Mancuso's apparently solid legal standing hasn't stopped Colombian officials from demanding his arrest. With the U.S. order that he be sent to his father's native Italy, Colombian officials have launched a last-ditch lobbying effort. While extradition of Colombian drug lords has helped relieve pressure on the country's investigators, it's far rarer for Colombia to seek arrests beyond its borders.