Jeffersson Arango Castellanos, Kidnapping US Soldiers, Florida 2020

A shocking incident of international crime has come to light with the extradition of Jeffersson Arango Castellanos, a Colombian national, to the United States for his alleged involvement in kidnapping and assaulting two US Army soldiers in Bogota, Colombia.

According to court documents, Arango and his co-conspirators targeted, incapacitated, and kidnapped the two US soldiers on March 5, 2020, while they were in an entertainment district in Bogota watching a sporting event. The victims were at a pub when they lost consciousness due to the presence of benzodiazepines in their systems, which was confirmed through medical examinations.

The defendants are alleged to have targeted the two victims at the pub, incapacitated them with drugs, and kidnapped them to acquire the victims’ valuables and credit and debit card information.

Jeffersson Arango Castellanos made his initial court appearance today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, facing charges of 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.

Arango and his co-conspirators face a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted. 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 in this case. Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor and Elizabeth Nielson of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Dayron Silverio for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Related Federal Cases