BOGOTA, July 2, 2008 (AFP) - Colombia authorized Tuesday the extradition of 26 of its citizens to the United States where they are accused of trafficking drugs, the presidency said in a statement.

Four women are among those to be sent to the United States, the government said, while one person is also to be extradited to Peru under similar circumstances.

Since August 2002, when President Alvaro Uribe took power, the government in Bogota has extradited more than 500 Colombians, the majority of them to the United States and primarily for drug trafficking and money laundering offences.