Days after being hurriedly extradited from Colombian prisons, a group of right-wing paramilitaries expressed surprise Thursday as they stood in a U.S. courtroom, flanked by armed marshals and wearing bright orange jumpsuits and slippers. Eight Colombians, including paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso, pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking charges. The men, among 14 who were extradited Tuesday, were all ordered held without bail until a hearing next week. "This whole matter took us by surprise," said Juan Carlos Sierra-Ramirez said when asked whether he planned to hire his own lawyer. "Therefore, I am going to take a few days."

Others made similar statements and entered their pleas through court-appointed lawyers.

The paramilitaries are accused of being members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC. The U.S. has designated the group a terrorist organization.

The militias were formed in the 1980s to defend wealthy ranchers and drug traffickers against extortion and kidnappings by leftist rebels, but eventually killed at least 10,000 people, including dozens of labor activists, Colombian authorities say.

Those extradited in the surprise pre-dawn operation this week were among the illegal militias' top leadership, including Mancuso. He has been under indictment in the U.S. since 2002, when Attorney General John Ashcroft said "the lawlessness that breeds terrorism is also a fertile ground for the drug trafficking that supports terrorism."

While Mancuso was being held by U.S. officials, Colombian police seized $25 million in property he owned across much of northwest Colombia.

The Bush administration has said the extraditions should prompt U.S. congressional Democrats to reconsider their opposition to the Colombian trade deal, which has stalled over Democrats' accusations that President Alvaro Uribe has failed to crack down on the militias for killing union organizers.

Written By MATT APUZZO

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