A Colombian politician fighting extradition from the U.S. on corruption charges filed a petition in Miami to be released on bond, pending examination of his country’s request to return him to face a 17-year prison sentence.
One-time Colombian presidential candidate and former minister of agriculture Andres Felipe Arias allegedly embezzled and redirected to wealthy landowners millions earmarked for impoverished rural farmers. He is jailed on an extradition warrant at the Federal Detention Center in Miami, and filed the motion Sept. 23 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
