Narco-Terrorists Charged in California with Exchanging Cocaine for Firearms in Colombia
LOS ANGELES, California – Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo, 39, a.k.a. ‘Marlon Vásquez,’ and Juan Diego Palta Montero, 26, a.k.a. ‘Ñeque,’ have been charged in a six-count superseding indictment with being senior members of a large cocaine-manufacturing ring that trades cocaine to buy firearms to engage in terrorist activity in Colombia.
Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo and Juan Diego Palta Montero are charged with: one count of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; one count of conspiracy to engage in narco-terrorism; one count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine for the purpose of unlawful importation; one count of conspiracy to possess firearms, machine guns, and destructive devices in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; and one count of distribution of cocaine for the purpose of unlawful importation. Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo is also charged with one additional count of possession of firearms, machine guns, and destructive devices in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Both defendants are believed to be in Colombia and are not in custody. According to the superseding indictment, FARC-EP is a dissident faction of the FARC terrorist group and emerged after its rejection of a 2016 peace agreement between FARC and the Colombian government. FARC-EP is Colombia’s most powerful and violent dissident group and has continued to carry out criminal acts, including assassinations, extortion, hostage-takings, and armed assaults.
The group focuses most of its attacks on Colombian government and military targets but has also attacked critical infrastructure, Colombian civilians, and U.S. military personnel in the country. FARC-EP equips its members with firearms, machine guns, mines, and bombs. The group disseminates propaganda videos to convince the Colombian public and government that FARC-EP controls Colombia, to threaten rivals, and to recruit young Colombians to join it. Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo has appeared in and is the primary speaker in some of these videos.
FARC-EP controls an area of Colombia responsible for producing approximately 70% of the cocaine manufactured in that nation. The United States designated FARC-EP a foreign terrorist organization in December 2021. FARC-EP partners with other terrorist organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel, Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG), and Nueva Familia Michoacana.
From March 2023 to March 2024, Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo and Juan Diego Palta Montero knowingly attempted to provide material support and resources to FARC-EP by way of thousands of rounds of ammunition, including for AK-47s, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, 100 grenades, and 12 machine guns – weapons they attempted to obtain by exchanging cocaine they had manufactured and distributed at Colombia-based laboratories Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo and others owned and operated.
In one such drug deal in Colombia in May 2023, seven kilograms (15.4 pounds) of cocaine – intended for importation and distribution into the United States, including Southern California – in exchange for Colombian pesos worth approximately $10,715. In December 2023, a co-conspirator traveled to the Czech Republic on Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo’s behalf to review and examine weapons that would be traded for cocaine to be imported into the United States. Following a meeting with a purported weapons supplier, the co-conspirator discussed how FARC-EP sought to obtain rocket-propelled grenade launchers to shoot at the Colombian presidential palace, Colombian army helicopters, Colombia’s Supreme Court building, local police stations, and the place where Colombian President Gustavo Petro was located, to force Colombia’s government to respect them.
Later that month, the defendants, along with a co-conspirator, distributed approximately 21 kilograms (46.3 pounds) of cocaine packaged in materials depicting the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles to a buyer.
Mandatory Facts:
Iván Jacobo Idrobo Arredondo, 39, a.k.a. ‘Marlon Vásquez’
Charged with: attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization; conspiracy to engage in narco-terrorism; conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine for the purpose of unlawful importation; conspiracy to possess firearms, machine guns, and destructive devices in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; distribution of cocaine for the purpose of unlawful importation; and possession of firearms, machine guns, and destructive devices in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense
City and State: LOS ANGELES, California
Exact Date: March 2023 to March 2024
Sentence or Outcome: Not in custody
Dollar Amounts: $10,715
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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