Most wanted Colombian drug lord Victor Navarro killedOctober 3, 2015 - 10:54 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Colombian drug lord targeted by U.S. investigators with a $5 million reward has been killed, Colombia's President said Friday, October 2, according to CNN. The death of Victor Ramon Navarro-Cerrano, a cocaine kingpin in North America and Europe, was confirmed by Colombian intelligence forces, President Juan Manuel Santos said on Twitter. "Big blow," Santos tweeted. "Congratulations!" He said criminals or their subjects face "justice or end under the ground." Navarro-Cerrano, 39, ran a criminal enterprise called the Librado Mora Toro Front of the El Ejercito Popular de Liberacion (EPL) that grew coca, ran cocaine production labs, and sold metric tons of the drug to the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic and Europe, the U.S. State Department said. Navarro-Cerrano also ran "a vast money laundering network responsible for moving millions of dollars to Colombia," U.S. authorities said. "Navarro-Cerrano uses his money and influence to corrupt officials in Colombia and even utilizes corrupt police officials to escort his cocaine shipments and investigate his rivals," the State Department website said. Navarro-Cerrano faced an August 2011 indictment in Florida and was designated as foreign drug kingpin last year by President Barack Obama under the Kingpin Act, which denies drug traffickers access to the U.S. financial system. The U.S. government had offered a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to Navarro-Cerrano's arrest and conviction. Photo: AFP Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Lemkin Institute urges Armenia to respect people’s right to dissent The Lemkin Institute has urged the Armenian government to respect people’s fundamental human right to express their dissent. Iran’s Red Crescent sends aid to Armenia’s flood-hit regions The Iranian Red Crescent Society has sent humanitarian aid to the victims of deadly floods that hit northern Armenia on May 25-26. Putin congratulates Pashinyan’s birthday Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on his birthday on June 1. Opposition motorcade en route to Gyumri for large rally A motorcade of protesters headed by Archbishop Bagrat Galstanyan is heading to the city of Gyumri. |