Four members and associates of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) were arrested yesterday in Colombia for conspiring and attempting to import thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Jesse Garcia, Assistant Andean Regional Director of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, announced the arrest of SEUXIS PAUCIS HERNANDEZ-SOLARTE, MARLON MARIN, ARMANDO GOMEZ, and FABIO SIMON YOUNES ARBOLEDA.
The defendants, who worked together from June 2017 to April 2018, produced and distributed approximately 10,000 kilograms of cocaine from Colombia to the United States and elsewhere, with the aim of supplying the cocaine and using U.S.-registered airplanes to transport the drugs.
Hernandez-Solarte, a high-ranking member of the FARC leadership and a candidate to be seated in Colombia’s House of Representatives, represented that he had access to laboratories to supply the cocaine and to U.S.-registered airplanes to transport the drugs.
The defendants are charged with one count of conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, and two counts of attempting to import cocaine into the United States. If convicted, they face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum term of life in prison on each count.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. Laroche and Jason A. Richman are in charge of the prosecution.
The charges are merely allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The defendants’ extradition from Colombia is being sought by the United States.
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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