Colombian President Gustavo Petro has suspended the extradition of a dissident guerrilla commander wanted by the United States on drug trafficking charges, in a move likely to deepen already strained relations with Washington.
The resolution, signed by Petro on Friday, May 23, halts the extradition of Gabriel Yepes Mejía, alias “HH,” leader of Comuneros del Sur – a breakaway faction of the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrilla currently engaged in peace negotiations with the Colombian government. U.S. federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of Texas (Houston) have charged Yepes Mejía with coordinating cocaine production and shipments destined for Central America and Mexico.
The suspension, granted under Petro’s much-criticized “Total Peace” policy, will remain in effect as long as the commander contributes “verifiable and concrete” results to the peace process. But critics warn the decision risks undermining judicial cooperation with the United States, which has long relied on extradition as a cornerstone of bilateral drug enforcement efforts.
Washington’s frustration with Petro has been mounting. In recent months, his administration has rebuked former President Trump’s deportation flights, signed a new economic cooperation agreement with China, and formally joined Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)- moves that have raised the ire of senior U.S. lawmakers.
Several local news outlets claim that the White House is weighing new economic sanctions in response to what it sees as a growing pattern of defiance from Petro’s leftwing administration. According to a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice to Colombia’s Attorney General in December 2024, the suspension of Yepes Mejía’s extradition represents a “departure from a long and productive bilateral relationship” and could foster “an atmosphere of impunity for serious transnational crimes.”
Colombian officials defend the suspension as necessary to maintain fragile peace talks with the Comuneros del Sur, who exert control in the department of Nariño. In April, the group surrendered 585 explosive devices to the military – part of a symbolic gesture toward disarmament. However, the Comuneros del Sur continue to be financed by illegal gold mining, extortion, and transnational narcotics trafficking.
Despite Petro’s belief that his stalled “paz total” agenda can still yield results, FARC dissidents and ELN continue to engage in violence and repeatedly violate ceasefire agreements. In Colombia’s volatile Catatumbo region, ELN and FARC dissidents are currently locked in a bloody territorial conflict over control of drug-trafficking routes near the Venezuelan border.
Although the Colombian Supreme Court approved Yepes Mejía’s extradition last month, the commander was formally indicted in the U.S. in July 2022. Prosecutors accuse him of overseeing cocaine laboratories, managing logistics for exports, and acting as a key intermediary between Colombian producers and Central American cartels.
Meanwhile, two other FARC dissident commanders – Willinton Henao, alias “Mocho Olmedo,” and alias “John Mechas” – remain wanted under Interpol red notices.
“The extradition policy will be tied to meaningful progress in peace dialogues,” Petro declared Friday from the Colombian port city of Barranquilla. “We’ve asked the Attorney General’s Office to review the legal standing of those who contribute to peace efforts. Civilian protection and the dismantling of illicit economies are our priorities.”
But as Colombia pivots toward China and opposition leaders question the motives of armed actors joining the so-called “total peace” process, Petro’s decision to suspend an extradition agreement may further isolate Bogotá from its closest geopolitical ally – Washington – and test the limits of U.S. patience.
