COLOMBIAN DRUG TRAFFICKER SENTENCED TO 194 MONTH PRISON TERM

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 
Monday, September 16, 2013

High-level Colombian Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 194 Months in Prison
Jose Maria Corredor-Ibague, aka “Boyaco,” a high-level drug trafficker and supporter of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), has been sentenced in Washington, D.C., to serve 194 months in prison.  Corredor-Ibague was the first person in the nation to be indicted under the federal narco-terrorism statute, which became law in March 2006.

The sentencing was announced today by Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Carlin of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. of the District of Columbia; Michele M. Leonhart, Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Steinbach of the FBI’s Miami Field Office; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami Special Agent in Charge Alysa D. Erichs; and Special Agent in Charge John F. Khin of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service Southeast Field Office.

“Jose Maria Corredor-Ibague was an international drug lord who moved cocaine around the world through a close, criminal partnership with the FARC,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Raman.  “This narco-terrorism case was the first of its kind.  As this 194-month sentence demonstrates, the Justice Department is firmly committed to working with its counterparts to hold accountable anyone who uses narco-trafficking to support, assist and enable terrorism.”

“This defendant led a drug transportation network that distributed thousands of kilograms of cocaine to destinations in the United States and other countries, often acting in concert with the FARC terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “He was a leader of a broader conspiracy that engaged in narco-terrorism, and his apprehension, prosecution and 194-month prison sentence show that law enforcement is committed to combatting drug traffickers and those who provide support to terrorist groups.”

Corredor-Ibague’s sentence was unsealed today in U.S. District Court in the District of Columbia.  On Monday, Sept. 9, 2013, Corredor-Ibague, 46, a Colombian National, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler.  In addition to his prison term, Corredor-Ibague was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release.

Corredor-Ibague was arrested in Colombia on Oct. 15, 2006.  He was extradited to the United States in October 2008 and subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine while knowing and intending that the cocaine would be imported into the United States, one count of narco-terrorism and one count of conspiracy to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization.

According to court documents, Corredor-Ibague was the leader of an extensive drug manufacturing and transportation network that processed and manufactured cocaine in Colombian laboratories and used airplanes to fly multi-hundred kilogram loads of cocaine from clandestine airstrips in Colombia to various countries, including Brazil, Guyana, Mexico, Paraguay, Suriname and Venezuela.  From these countries, which were often used as transshipment points, the cocaine was sent to destinations in the United States and Europe.  Corredor-Ibague controlled the clandestine airstrips used by his organization and also owned and operated the laboratories used to manufacture and package the cocaine.  Corredor-Ibague and his associates also transported cocaine owned by other drug trafficking organizations, including cocaine belonging to the FARC.

Corredor-Ibague’s drug trafficking activities were conducted with the protection of the FARC.  In particular, the FARC’s “First Front” combat group profited from the activities of Corredor-Ibague and his associates.  Corredor-Ibague paid taxes to the FARC using U.S. currency and weapons.  Additionally, Corredor-Ibague provided material support, assistance and resources to the FARC, including assault-type weapons, machine guns, ammunition, uniforms and sophisticated communications equipment.  Corredor-Ibague conducted these activities with knowledge that the FARC engaged in terrorist activity and terrorism in Colombia and elsewhere.

“This narco-terrorist illegally exported sophisticated US military weapons and communications equipment to support criminal activities by a designated terrorist organization,” said DCIS Special Agent in Charge Khin.  “Joint investigations such as these highlight the success of multi-agency partnerships in protecting America’s national security interests in this region.”

This case was investigated by the DEA, the ICE-HSI Miami Field Office, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) Southeast Field Office and the FBI Miami Field Office.  Additionally, the U.S. government expresses its grateful appreciation to the government of Colombia for their assistance and support during the investigation, arrest and extradition.

The case was jointly prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Robert Raymond and Jamie Perry of the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section (NDDS); Trial Attorney Glenn Alexander, formerly of NDDS and now with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section; Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Asuncion of the District of Columbia; and Trial Attorney David Cora of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.  The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided significant assistance in the provisional arrest and extradition of Corredor-Ibague.

U.S. SAYS COLOMBIAN TERRORIST EXTRADITED TO UNITED STATES FOR HOSTAGE TAKING

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website:
Monday, March 12, 2012
Accused Member of Foreign Terrorist Organization Extradited to United States on Hostage Taking Charges
WASHINGTON – Alexander Beltran Herrera, 35, aka Jhon Alexander Beltrain Herrera, aka Rodrigo Pirinolo, an accused member of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), has been extradited from Colombia to face hostage taking and terrorism charges in the United States.

The extradition was announced by Lisa Monaco, Assistant Attorney General for National Security; Ronald C. Machen Jr., U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia; and Dena Choucair, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Miami Division.

Beltran Herrera was extradited from Colombia to the United States over the weekend to face charges in an indictment returned in the District of Columbia on Feb. 22, 2011.   The indictment, which names as defendants 18 members of the FARC, charges Herrera specifically with one count of conspiracy to commit hostage taking; three counts of hostage taking; one count of using and carrying a firearm during a crime of violence; one count of conspiracy to provide material support to terrorists and one count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

Beltran Herrera is scheduled to be arraigned today at 11:15 a.m. before Judge Royce C. Lamberth in federal court in the District of Columbia.   If convicted of all the charges against him, he faces a maximum potential sentence of life in prison.

According to the indictment, the FARC is an armed, violent organization in Colombia, which since its inception in 1964, has engaged in an armed conflict to overthrow the Republic of Colombia, South America’s longest-standing democracy.  The FARC has consistently used hostage taking as a primary technique in extorting demands from the Republic of Colombia.  Hostage taking has been endorsed and commanded by FARC senior leadership.   The FARC has characterized American citizens as “military targets” and has engaged in violent acts against Americans in Colombia, including murders and hostage taking.   The FARC was designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State in 1997 and remains so designated.

The indictment alleges that Beltran Herrera was a member of the 27th Front in the FARC’s Southern Block.   Beltran Herrera was allegedly involved in the hostage taking of three U.S. citizens, Marc D. Gosalves, Thomas R. Howes and Keith Stansell.   These three individuals, along with Thomas Janis, a U.S. citizen, and Sergeant Luis Alcides Cruz, a Colombian citizen, were seized on Feb. 13, 2003, by the FARC after their single engine aircraft made a crash landing near Florencia, Colombia.   Janis and Cruz were murdered at the crash site by members of the FARC.

According to the indictment, Gonsalves, Howes and Stansell were held by the FARC at gunpoint and were advised by FARC leadership that they would be used as hostages to increase international pressure on the government of the Republic of Colombia to agree to the FARC’s demands.

The FARC at various times marched the hostages from one site to another, placing them in the actual custody of various FARC Fronts.   At the conclusion of one 40-day march, in or about November 2004, the hostages were delivered to members of the FARC’s 27th Front, commanded by Daniel Tamayo Sanchez, who was responsible for the hostages for nearly two years, after which they were delivered to the FARC’s 1st Front.   During part of this two year period with the 27th Front, Beltran Herrera was responsible for moving the hostages and keeping them imprisoned.

Throughout the captivity of these three hostages, FARC jailors and guards, including Beltran Herrera, used choke harnesses, chains, padlocks and wires to restrain the hostages, and used force and threats to continue their detention and prevent their escape.  The indictment also accuses Beltran Herrera of using and carrying a military-type machine gun during the hostage taking and providing material support and resources to aid in the hostage taking and to aid the FARC.

“Today’s extradition underscores our resolve to hold accountable all those responsible for this crime and we will not rest until every one of them is brought to justice,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco.

“This extradition is another step toward justice on behalf of Americans taken hostage and held in chains by a Colombian terrorist organization,” said U.S. Attorney Machen. “We will not hesitate to bring to justice anyone who targets Americans around the world with violence to advance their political agendas.”

“This extradition further disrupts and dismantles the FARC, a foreign terrorist organization that has engaged in violent acts against American and Colombian citizens,” said FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Choucair.  “The outstanding, long term cooperation between the Colombian National Police and U.S. law enforcement has struck another blow to international terrorism.”

This investigation is being led by the FBI’s Miami Field Division.   The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony Asuncion and Fernando Campoamar-Sanchez from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney David Cora from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

Substantial assistance in the case was provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Department’s Judicial Attachés in Colombia, and the FBI’s Office of the Legal Attaché in Colombia. The Directorate of Intelligence (DIPOL) and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit (GAULA) of the Colombian National Police also provided substantial assistance.

The public is reminded that an indictment contains mere allegations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.