Colombia arrests tied to Houston
The top Justice Department official in Houston announced the arrest in Colombia of three people affiliated with the Ejército de Liberación Nacional, a paramilitary group considered a foreign terrorist organization, on allegations they’re involved in an international drug conspiracy linked to terrorism.
Last week Colombian officials arrested Yamit “Choncha” PiconRodriguez, 36, Jose Gabriel “Alex” Alvarez-Ortiz, 26, and Henry “Moncho Picada” Trigos-Celon, 43, upon the request of U.S. federal agents, according to a news release. A U.S. Attorney’s Office spokesperson declined to comment about extradition.
The federal case in Houston centers on Wilver “El Puerco” Villegas-Palomino, 38, an alleged ELN leader who is an international fugitive as of Feb. 13. He operated in the the Northeast War Front in the Catatumbo region of Colombia and Venezuela.
The FBI is offering up to $5 million for information leading to his arrest. Also wanted in the case are Jaime Miguel “Chencho” PiconRodriguez, 38, and Diomedes “El Burro” Barbosa-Montaño, 38.
The defendants are charged with drug trafficking, conspiracy and narco-terrorism. The sealed indictment in the case outlines a 20-year conspiracy by the defendants to move cocaine from Colombia to the United States and used the proceeds to fund the ELN.
In 2019, Villegas-Palomino, Picon-Rodriguez, Trigos-Celon, Barbosa-Montaño and Alvarez-Ortiz were charged with distributing
about 30 kilograms of cocaine in Colombia that prosecutors believe was intended for sale to the United States.
The arrests are part of a campaign called Operation Catatumbo Lightning, a collaboration between the FBI and law enforcement and military partners in the United States and in Colombia, said FBI Director Christopher Wray, according to the release.
“These arrests should serve as a warning that the FBI will relentlessly target and disrupt any narco-terrorist activity that threatens the health and safety of the American people and our international community,” he said.
“As alleged, for decades, ELN produced and exported tons of cocaine to the U.S., using communities in America to fund their terrorist activities,” said Timothy J. Shea, acting administrator for the Drug Enforcement Administration. “These enforcement actions have dealt a major blow to the ELN and are a true testament to the power of partnerships. DEA remains dedicated to our partners around the globe in the shared mission of bringing narcoterrorists to justice.”
Attorney General William Barr said the arrests reaffirm the Justice Department’s “commitment to dismantling and disrupting this narco-terrorist group.”
“The United States and Colombia have a shared mission of combating narco-trafficking and narco-terrorism and the long-standing cooperation and teamwork between U.S. and Colombian law enforcement is stronger in addressing transnational crime and weakening foreign terrorist organizations,” he added.
The ELN, a left-wing group linked to liberation theology, dates to the mid-1960s. Guerrilla units have existed in the Catatumbo area since the 1970s. According to Human Rights Watch, the Northeast War Front now has about 400 militants. The nonprofit group says that in January 2019, the ELN claimed responsibility for a car-bomb attack at a police academy in Bogotá.