Sep 14, 2007, 19:57 GMT
Bogota - Colombian authorities have decided to hold a top drug lord and a former paramilitary boss, both wanted by the United States, in jails fashioned on navy warships for their own security, government officials said Friday.
Diego Montoya, known as 'Don Diego,' was the top boss of Colombia's most powerful drug cartel and was captured last week by special army commandos.
Montoya was to be transferred to a navy ship while rebel leader Carlos Jimenez - known as 'Macaco' - was already being held on a different ship and would remain there until further notice, according to Interior and Justice Minister Carlos Holguin. Another paramilitary leader, Diego Murillo, alias 'Don Berna,' will be moved to a high- security prison in the central Colombian town of Combita.
Holguin said the three were at risk in the jails where they were being held.
'They will be in the war corvettes for as long as necessary, we have not determined that yet,' Holguin said, adding that the state penitentiary system would be responsible for security on board the vessels.
Montoya was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list in the United States, under charges of drug trafficking, money laundering and racketeering.
Your Talkback on this Story