Colombia hands over US army trafficking suspects

BOGOTA, Colombia - Two American soldiers arrested in Colombia for suspected arms trafficking have been handed over to US custody in compliance with a treaty granting immunity to American personnel, officials said.

The two men, based in Colombia as part of a US military aid programme to fight cocaine and Marxist rebels, will be sent to the United States in the next few days while investigations proceed, a spokesman for the US Embassy in Bogota said.

Colombian police identified the men as Alan Tanquary and Jesus Hernandez. They were handed over to embassy staff in the central Colombian town of Ibague after two nights in local police custody.

Police arrested the soldiers on Tuesday along with four Colombians after finding them with 32,000 rounds of ammunition local authorities suspect they had stolen and planned to sell to far-right paramilitary outlaws.

It was the second embarrassing incident involving US troops here in little over a month.

Five American soldiers were arrested in the United States in late March on suspicion of trying to smuggle hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of Colombian cocaine on a US military aircraft.

Colombian police suspect Tanquary and Hernandez planned to sell the ammunition to the far-right United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, or AUC, a group responsible for many of Colombia's worst human rights abuses, including the killings of thousands of civilians.

The United States classifies the AUC as a terrorist organisation. The group is also heavily involved in cocaine trafficking.

"Allegations that US military personnel were involved in trafficking of ammunition are extremely troubling. As with all criminal allegations against US military personnel, we are committed to a full investigation," the embassy spokesman said.

Under a treaty signed with the United States in 1974, Colombia does not have the right to prosecute US personnel serving here. But Colombian officials have occasionally expressed irritation about what they see as light punishment for US citizens caught breaking the law in their country.

"One hopes that if these soldiers are sent to the United States that they'll be put on trial and that the punishment is similar to what they'd get here," Vice President Francisco Santos said.

US officials could not say what charges the men might face.

Nor could they confirm their identities. But one official familiar with the case said the two were members of the army and that one was a sergeant and the other a warrant officer.

The US Congress has authorised the presence of up to 800 American troops in Colombia as instructors and to help Colombia fight cocaine traffickers and Marxist rebels but not to take part in combat.

The United States has provided more than US$3 billion ($4.13 billion) in mainly military aid to Colombia since 2000 and up to 600 civilian contractors are also allowed here.

- REUTERS