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HomeArchiveCosta Rica court orders Colombian ex-guerrilla member to be deported to Panama

Costa Rica court orders Colombian ex-guerrilla member to be deported to Panama

An Administrative Immigration Court on Wednesday ordered Libardo Parra, a former Colombian ex-guerrilla militant, to be deported to Panama, Costa Rica’s Public Security Vice Minister Freddy Montero reported.

The court on Aug. 28 denied for a fourth time Parra’s asylum application. He has maintained a legal battle with Costa Rican authorities to avoid being deported to Colombia, where he is wanted after being convicted on kidnapping charges.

In Costa Rica, Parra served a sentence for money laundering and was released from the Foreigner Temporary Detention Center in May 2012.

Parra also served part of his sentence in a maximum-security section of La Reforma prison, north of the capital, as he was considered a highly dangerous prisoner.

High ranking officials at the Public Security Ministry and at Costa Rica’s Office of Intelligence and Security held negotiations with Panamanian officials in order to deport Parra, after the court’s ruling last week, Montero said.

Costa Rica is the fifth country in Latin America that refused to grant asylum to the Colombian man.

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