Colombian rebel extradited to US

By Jeremy McDermott BBC correspondent in Colombia

Vargas Rueda is one of six rebels indicted in the US for the killings

Colombia has extradited a Marxist guerrilla to the United States to face charges of murdering three American activists who were campaigning for the rights of indigenous people.

The US is also requesting the extradition of many top commanders of the FARC or Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia for their alleged involvement in drugs trafficking.

The bodies of the American activists working with an indigenous tribe in Colombia were found by the Venezuelan border in 1999.

Their corpses were hooded, with shots to the head and chest, and the bodies bore signs of torture.

The man who has been extradited, Nelson Vargas Rueda, is one of six FARC guerrillas indicted in the US for the killings.

The FARC initially denied involvement. But an intercepted radio message proved they had carried out the murders.

The rebels said the killings were a mistake and that they would punish those responsible, although they refused to hand them over to Colombian authorities.

New move

Instead, they issued their own punishments: forced labour and learning to read.

Mr Vargas Rueda was captured by police in the eastern province of Arauca earlier this year.

The extradition marks the first time a guerrilla has been sent by Colombia to face American justice.

But the US also wants to extradite top FARC commanders on charges of drugs trafficking.

Mr Vargas Rueda is a very junior member of the FARC - the senior commanders are well hidden in the deep jungles of the 40% of Colombia dominated by the rebels.