Lawyer for suspected drug trafficker awaiting US extradition says police nabbed the wrong man

Argentine lawyer says US extraditing wrong man

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The lawyer for a suspected Colombian drug trafficker detained in Argentina and facing extradition to the United States is claiming it’s a case of mistaken identity.

Attorney Horacio Ruiz says the man identified by Argentine and U.S. authorities as Luis Caicedo Velandia is a Guatemalan businessman, not the powerful drug lord known as “Don Lucho.”

The suspect appeared in court Wednesday for the first time since his April 12 arrest.

Colombian national police chief Oscar Naranjo said Caicedo is part of a new generation of traffickers who keep a low profile.

Caicedo has allegedly been living in Argentina under a false Guatemalan passport, moving millions of dollars of cocaine into the United States and laundering the profits.