-Caveat Lector-
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--- Begin Message --- -Caveat Lector- One party to the conspiracy is a former conservative member of the European Parliament, a Danish national now residing in Texas.
Man indicted in drug-for-arms conspiracy extradited
By: Heath Hixson, [Conroe Texas] Courier staff January 03, 2003
A Woodlands [TX] resident accused of engineering an international drugs-for-arms conspiracy to outfit a Colombian terrorist group with $25 million in weapons is now jailed in Houston awaiting trial after being extradited to the United States.
Carlos Ali Romero Varela, a 43-year-old Colombian native who owns a home in the Village of Cochran's Crossing, was extradited Dec. 20 from Costa Rica to face federal conspiracy charges, authorities said Thursday.
Romero was arrested Nov. 5 in Costa Rica with two Colombians in connection with the alleged plot to trade drugs and cash for $25 million in Russian-made weapons to arm the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, a right-wing Colombian paramilitary group.
A fourth suspect, Uwe Jensen, 66, a Denmark native who resides in Fort Bend County near Houston, also was arrested in connection with the conspiracy. He was arrested at his home Nov. 5. Jensen is a former conservative member of the Danish Parliament and the European Parliament. He was employed at Romero's Houston-based petroleum shipping tank business, Poseidon Inc.
A federal grand jury in Houston indicted the four Dec. 4 on federal charges of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organization. They could face life in federal prison if convicted.
Federal prosecutors said Romero was the key player locally in brokering the deal.
"He (Romero) was the main person here that was putting all of this together," Robert Stabe, an assistant U.S. attorney, previously said. "We would not present it to a grand jury if we did not think we had a case. We are confident in our case."
Romero faces an arraignment hearing Jan. 7 in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson, where he is only able to plead not guilty, U.S. Federal Court officials said Thursday.
Court officials said Romero's trial is scheduled to begin Feb. 11.
Jensen previously pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody awaiting trial.
The two Colombians are suspected of being members of the terrorist group and remain in custody in Costa Rica. It is unknown when they will be extradited, said Eric Wallenius, U.S. Marshal's Service spokesman in Houston.
The group, otherwise known by its Spanish name Autodefensas Unidas De Colombia, or the AUC, is listed on the State Department's foreign terrorist organizations list, which includes 34 other groups, such as militant Islamic movements al-Qaida, Hamas and Hezbollah.
The conspiracy allegedly began when Jensen introduced Romero to an undercover FBI operative in 2001. After several meetings, Romero, the FBI operative and the AUC members arranged for at least $25 million worth of cash and cocaine to be traded for the weapons, according to federal documents.
Romero was to use petroleum-shipping tanks to transport the weapons. The latest meeting was Oct. 19 in Panama.
The weapons in the deal included more than 10,000 assault rifles, nearly 400 pistols, at least eight grenade launchers, anti-aircraft missiles and more than 60 million rounds of various types of ammunition.
The federal government claims the AUC is responsible for more than 800 assassinations, 75 massacres with 507 victims and more than 200 kidnappings in the first 10 months of 2000 -- the latest government figures -- according to court records. The government also claims the AUC funds 70 percent of its operations through drug trafficking.
�The Courier 2003
<A HREF="">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>
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