Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia endorses extradition of the brother of congresswoman Piedad Córdoba, according to a ruling

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(CNN Spanish) --

The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia gave a free pass on Wednesday to the extradition to the United States of Álvaro Fredy Córdoba Ruiz, brother of the elected senator Piedad Córdoba, captured by the Colombian police on February 2 of this year in Medellin.

Of the three charges contained in the US government petition, the highest court of justice only authorized extradition for drug trafficking, according to the 43-page ruling.

The Court denied extradition for the remaining crimes -possession of machine guns and destructive devices and conspiracy to possess machine guns and destructive devices- because it considers that both offenses would have been committed in Colombia and should be investigated in the country.

• The brother of former senator Piedad Córdoba is arrested in Colombia for alleged links to drug trafficking

A federal court in the Southern District of New York requests Córdoba for the crime of drug trafficking.

From the moment of his capture, Córdoba has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

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Córdoba's defense attorneys, as stated in the Court's decision, had asked to deny the extradition of the detainee to the United States, but the court rejected the argument that the government of that country had not proven the participation of the investigated in the crimes charged to him.

The extradition process remains in the hands of the Colombian Ministry of Justice, which will have to wait whether or not there is an appeal by Córdoba's defense and then send the document to President Gustavo Petro for signature.

On April 20, the then presidential candidate for the Historical Pact had asked Piedad Córdoba to suspend her activities in the electoral campaign while she resolved the legal accusations against her.

In a letter published two days before the inauguration, Piedad Córdoba responded that she would not step aside, but was on his side.

That is why the extradition of Álvaro Córdoba becomes a litmus test for the recently inaugurated left-wing leader, who will have the last word on whether or not to send the brother of Senator Piedad Córdoba to a prison in the United States.