and Political Rights, is of the view that the facts which have been placed before it do not disclose a violation of any provision of the Covenant. 11. The Human Rights Committee, acting under article 5, paragraph 4, of the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil _______________ Communication No. 319/1988 Submitted by: Edgar A. Canón García (represented by counsel) Date of communication: 4 July 1988 Alleged victim: The author State party: Ecuador Date of adoption of Views: 5 November 1991 (forty-third session) officers acting on behalf of Interpol and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (D. E. A.), who forced them into a vehicle waiting in front of the hotel. He adds that he asked an Ecuadorian police colonel whether the Ecuadorian police (Policía Nacional Ecuatoriana) had any information about him; he was told that the police merely executed an “order” coming from the Embassy of the United States. After a trip of approximately one hour, they arrived at what appeared to be a private residence, where Mr. Canón was separated from his wife. Subject matter: Unlawful expulsion of alleged drug trafficker Procedural issues: Notion of victim— Substantiation of claim—Exhaustion of domestic remedies Substantive issues: Right to an effective remedy—Right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment—Expulsion of an alien—Right to have one’s expulsion case reviewed Articles of the Covenant: 7, 9(1), 13, 14(5) and 17 2.2 He claims to have been subjected to ill-treatment, which included the rubbing of salt water into his nasal passages. He spent the night handcuffed to a table and a chair, without being given as much as a glass of water. At approximately 8 a. m. the next morning, he was taken to the airport of Guayaquil, where two individuals, who had participated in his “abduction” the previous day, identified themselves as agents of the D. E. A. and informed him that he would be flown to the United States on the basis of an arrest warrant issued against him in 1982. Articles of the Optional Protocol: 1, 2 and 5(2)(b) 1. The author of the communication (initial submission dated 4 July 1988 and subsequent correspondence) is Edgar A. Canón García, a Colombian citizen currently imprisoned on a drug-trafficking conviction at the penitentiary in Anthony (Texas/New Mexico), United States of America. He is represented by counsel. 2.3 In this context, the author notes that agents of the D. E. A. had offered him, in the course of a covert operation in 1982, to carry out a drug-trafficking operation, which he had declined. He submits that he never committed a drug-related offence, and argues that the U. S. authorities decided not to follow the formal extradition procedures under the United States-Ecuador Extradition Treaty, since the possibility of obtaining an extradition order by an Ecuadorian judge would have been remote. The facts as submitted by the author 2.1 The author lived in the United States of America for 13 years until 1982, when he returned to Bogotá, Colombia, where he resided until July 1987. On 22 July 1987, he travelled to Guayaquil, Ecuador, with his wife. At around 5 p. m. the same day, while walking with his wife in the reception area of the Oro Verde Hotel, they were surrounded by 10 armed men, reportedly Ecuadorian police 90