Colombia sends 14 suspects to U.S.

BOGOTA, May 14 (UPI) -- Colombia, in an unprecedented move, sent 14 jailed paramilitary leaders to the United States Tuesday to face drug-trafficking charges.

The suspects were taken from three high-security prisons in Colombia under guard by dozens of police officers and put on a flight from Bogota to the United States, The New York Times reported.

The extraditions were seen as an attempt by President Álvaro Uribe to strike against the warlords at a time when his country is trying to strike a new trade deal with the United States, the newspaper said.

Key Democratic congressmen have opposed the trade deal, saying Uribe has not done enough to reduce human rights abuses or to prosecute those responsible.