Argentina asks Brazil to extradite former Uruguayan colonel

Argentina has asked Brazil to extradite a former Uruguayan colonel accused of torturing political prisoners in Argentina.

Photo: Argentina asks Brazil to extradite former Uruguayan colonel

Manuel Juan Cordero Piacentini is wanted by Argentine authorities for his alleged participation in 32 cases of kidnappings and torture, many of them against Uruguayan citizens, at a secret detention center in Argentina during the 1976-1983 military regime, the Agencia Brasil news service said late Wednesday.

The case will be analyzed by Brazil's Supreme Court, which has not given a timetable for a decision.

Argentine Federal Judge Daniel Rafecas, who made the extradition request on Wednesday, said Cordero was one of many foreign officials who worked at the secret "Automotores Orletti" detention center in Buenos Aires.

Cordero was arrested in February in Brazil near the border with Uruguay, where Brazilian authorities said he had been living since 2004.

Uruguay also wants Cordero extradited, in connection with its investigation of the disappearance of a leftist dissident during its 1973-1985 military dictatorship.