Murder suspect Alejandro Jimenez was first arrested in Colombia then expelled on Tuesday to face trial in Guatemala for the shooting death of famed folk singer Facundo Cabral on July 9 last year.
Jimenez, alias El Palidejo, left Bogota on Tuesday afternoon aboard a Colombian National Police airplane headed to Guatemala City, a police spokesman said.
Jimenez, 38, is alleged to have masterminded the attack by gunmen that killed the popular Argentine singer as he was being driven to the airport in Guatemala City.
Colombia federal police chief Oscar Naranjo told reporters the murder plot included four alleged accomplices, all of whom have been arrested.
Jimenez, a Costa Rican citizen, was captured by Colombian police in northwestern Colombia at Puerto Punta Albite, where he arrived on Saturday morning from Panama on a boat with two Colombians.
Naranjo said Jimenez is suspected of being the “author, prime suspect or mastermind” in the murder of Cabral.
The suspect, a wealthy businessman, is also accused of being a supplier and money launderer for the Sinaloa Mexican drug cartel.
The extradition followed hours of request to Colombian authorities by Guatemalan prosecutor Ricardo Guzman.
Guzman described his extradition request as “an urgent petition.”
“It is important for the Guatemalan justice system and the world that this issue be cleared up,” Guzman said.
Costa Rican Attorney General Jorge Chavarria said he prefers that Jimenez be tried in Guatemala and not his country of origin.
Guatemalan police said Cabral, 74, appears to have been an unintended victim of a murder attempt against businessman Henry Farinas, who had refused to sell nightclubs to Jimenez. Cabral, whom Farinas had hired as a performer, was riding in the same car as the businessman when the assassins opened fire.
Farinas was injured, but survived and is now a witness in the case.
Argentina held three days of national mourning after Cabral’s death. Fans turned up in droves to pay final respects as the singer’s coffin was displayed in the theater district of downtown Buenos Aires.
A global nomad who claimed to have visited 150 countries, Cabral sang largely about peace, love and everyday pleasures and pain.
His songs include the 1970s hit I’m Not From Here Nor There and are frequently performed by other Spanish-language performers. He was declared to be a “World Peace Messenger” in 1996 by UNESCO.
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