The Colombia Supreme Court ruled on April 3rd in favor of the US extradition request of all seven defendants charged with the murder of DEA Special Agent James “Terry” Watson in June 2013. Special Agent Watson’s career was the subject of a column last year.
Agent Watson was killed in what appeared to be a robbery attempt after he left a Bogota restaurant where he had met with friends to watch an NBA Championship game on television.
He had had an extraordinary career with DEA in which he sought out the most challenging and dangerous assignments, including three deployments in Afghanistan, as well as in Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti, Puerto Rico, and Panama.
The case indicates the close working relationship which has developed between Colombian and US law enforcement in recent years. Previous US extradition requests involving the murder of three other DEA agents in Colombia have been problematic.
The Colombian Supreme Court will now forward its ruling to the Colombian Ministry of Justice and then to Colombian President Juan Manual Santos Calderon for a final decision on the extradition.
