Extradition requests test U.S. on terrorism

Sun-Sentinel.com ^ | 12/20/2004 | Sandra Hernandez

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Last year, more than 650 Venezuelans quietly, unremarkably applied for asylum in the United States.

But two cases are grabbing headlines in South Florida and in Venezuela. A pair of former military officers linked to the bombings of the Spanish and Colombian diplomatic missions in Caracas are now at the center of an extradition fight that will test the Bush administration's response to terrorism in the hemisphere.

Last December, José Antonio Colin Pulido and Germán Varela arrived at Miami International Airport seeking asylum. A month later Venezuela filed a request to extradite the two men to face charges in Caracas in connection with the February 2003 bombings.

Since then, the two men have remained at Miami's Krome detention center awaiting a judge's decision on their application.

Next month, U.S. Immigration Judge Neale Foster will weigh closing arguments on the asylum requests before deciding whether to allow the men to stay in the United States.