FARC Guerilla Extradited For Allegedly Kidnapping American

July 29, 2010 — -- Yet another member of the FARC, the Colombian guerilla army that allegedly uses cocaine trafficking and kidnapping to fund its revolution, has been extradited to the U.S. to face U.S. criminal charges. Roque Orobio Lobon, who is charged with grabbing an American citizen off the streets of Panama City, Panama in 2008 and holding him for ransom, was handed over to U.S. authorities by Colombian police and arrived in New York on Tuesday.

Lobon's extradition comes just a week after another FARC leader was sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for conspiring to smuggle cocaine into the U.S. Authorities say that in recent years the FARC, a leftist group of 10,000 armed guerillas that has long sought to overthrow Colombia's elected government, has turned increasingly to illicit activities to raise money. Fifty FARC leaders are currently under U.S. indictment on drug charges. A 2009 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office says the FARC is responsible for 60 percent of the total cocaine exported from Colombia to the U.S.

According to Lobon's indictment, he kidnapped Cecilio Juan Padron for ransom on April 4, 2008 in Panama City at the direction of leaders of the FARC's 57th Front.

"Roque Orobio Lobon is accused of planning and carrying out the kidnapping of an American citizen who was threatened with death by one of the most violent factions of the FARC, its 57th Front," said Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. Bharara said that Lobon's indictment describes the FARC's "procurement of weapons and explosives, and the cocaine trafficking which finances them."

The kidnappers demanded ransom from the victim's family, and released Padron in February 2009 after it was paid by a family member, according to a U.S. law enforcement official. U.S. and Justice Department officials would not comment on the ransom or the amount that was paid to the kidnappers.

The arrest and extradition of Lobon resulted from the cooperative efforts of several U.S. agencies and the Colombian National Police.

"This operation is an example of how a strong partnership between Colombia and the United States is successful in combating drug trafficking and terrorism. Our governments have worked hand in hand to eliminate illegal activity and will continue to do so," a spokesperson for the Colombian Ministry of Defense told ABC News. Lobon was captured in Colombia by Colombian police in March 2009.

Padron, a Cuban exile with dual American and Panamanian citizenship, was said to have been working on some business deals in Panama when he was kidnapped. He has been actively involved in the leadership of the Cuban American National Foundation, the largest organization for Cubans in exile in the United States.