Jeffersson Arango Castellanos, Kidnapping and Assaulting U.S. Army Soldiers, Florida 2024

A Colombian national was sentenced to a lengthy prison term for his role in kidnapping and assaulting two U.S. Army soldiers who were on temporary duty in Bogota, Colombia.

Jeffersson Arango Castellanos, 36, was sentenced to 48 years and nine months in prison for his part in the kidnapping and assault of the two U.S. soldiers. According to court documents, Arango Castellanos and his co-conspirators targeted the two U.S. soldiers in Bogota on March 5, 2020.

The two victims went to an entertainment district in Bogota to watch a soccer game, where Arango Castellanos incapacitated them by putting drugs, including benzodiazepines, in their drinks. He and one of his co-conspirators then escorted the victims into a waiting car driven by another co-conspirator, kidnapped them, and took their valuables, including their wallets, debit and credit cards, and cell phones.

Arango Castellanos and his co-conspirators used one victim’s credit card and the other victim’s debit card to make purchases and withdraw money. The two victims lost consciousness until the following day, by which point they had been separated.

Arango Castellanos was extradited from Colombia to the United States in May 2023, and he pleaded guilty to kidnapping an internationally protected person, conspiracy to kidnap an internationally protected person, assaulting an internationally protected person, and conspiracy to assault an internationally protected person on January 26, 2024.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogota, and the U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the defendant. The United States also thanks Colombian law enforcement authorities for their valuable assistance.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement. Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor and Elizabeth Nielsen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertila L. Fernandez for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.

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