Colombia extradites FARC dissident commander 'Spider' to the US in first handover under De La Espriella
Colombia has handed FARC-dissident commander Geovany Andres Rojas, known as 'Spider', to US officials — the first senior armed-group extradition under President Abelardo De La Espriella.
Colombia has extradited Geovany Andres Rojas, the alleged drug-trafficking leader known as “Spider”, to the United States — the first extradition of a senior commander of an illegal armed group under President Abelardo De La Espriella, in office since August.
De La Espriella announced the handover on Friday, 25 September. Rojas, accused of leading the Border Commands faction of the National Coordinator of the Bolivarian Army (CNEB) — former FARC fighters who rejected or abandoned the 2016 peace deal — was handed to US officials at a Colombian National Police air base in Bogotá under heavy security, then flown to California into federal custody.
US prosecutors accuse Rojas of drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy tied to alleged operations in Colombia and Ecuador dating back to 2017; he is expected to face drug trafficking and terrorism charges in the US.
Rojas was arrested in February 2025 at a Bogotá hotel during peace talks under then-President Gustavo Petro, who shielded him from extradition to use him as a mediator. De La Espriella, who personally oversaw the transfer, said: “You don’t build peace by protecting narco-terrorists like this bandit.” He added: “Colombia will not be a refuge for drug traffickers wanted by international justice.” His administration has carried out 94 extraditions to date, he said in a post on X.
De La Espriella has scrapped Petro’s peace talks and launched a military offensive against armed groups, aligning Colombia with the Trump administration’s Latin America security push.
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