Bolivia requests US to extradite former president

Source Agence France-Presse

Bolivia on Monday asked the U.S. to extradite a former Bolivian president and two of his ministers to face charges of genocide and fraud, the Bolivian Embassy in Washington said. "We've formally presented a legal extradition request for (ex-president) Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and Carlos Sanchez Barzain (ex-defense minister), and Jorge Berindoague (ex-oil minister)," the embassy's charge d'affaires Erika Duenas said. Sanchez de Lozada resigned in October 2003 - 14 months after taking office - after massive, violent demonstrations against his plan to sell natural gas to foreign countries through Chile, with which Bolivia has a century-old border dispute. He resigned after some 65 people died in clashes between demonstrators and security forces who were ordered to clear the roads for oil and gas tanker trucks. Some of the demonstrations were led by current Bolivian President Evo Morales, who at the time was a powerful union leader. Victims of the clashes have filed lawsuits against Sanchez de Lozada and his ministers in U.S. courts and a federal judge in Miami is at present deciding whether the three men should face charges in the U.S. The three former officials are also undergoing trial in Bolivia's Supreme Court on charges of genocide, fraud and constitutional violations. Sanchez de Lozada moved to the U.S. after his resignation.