Through a resolution issued by the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York, Álvaro Córdoba was sentenced to serve fourteen years in prison for his involvement in activities related to drug trafficking.
Córdoba, 64 years old and originally from Medellín, had admitted his guilt in shipping cocaine to the United States in January 2024, initially facing a request for a minimum sentence of seventeen years from the prosecution.
This case has captured public attention not only for the crimes charged, but also for the prominent political career of his sister, Piedad Córdoba, a leading figure on the Colombian left.
Álvaro Córdoba, who is also a nutritionist who graduated from the University of Antioquia and was a candidate for the Medellín Council for the Liberal Party in 2011, was arrested in February 2022.
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The US authorities accused him of sending large quantities of drugs to their territory, in addition to criminal association and trafficking and possession of firearms and explosives, charges that were finally dismissed in March 2023.
The political context added more tension to the case, especially after Gustavo Petro, president of Colombia since 2022, signed Córdoba’s extradition to the US in September of the same year.
Petro had urged Piedad Córdoba during his presidential campaign to withdraw from active politics due to the legal implications his family faced.
Despite speculation about a possible change of decision, the extradition was carried out with the approval of the Colombian Justice on January 19, 2023.
In the operation, Córdoba and five other defendants were transferred to the United States on an aircraft of the Drug Control Administration of that country (DEA), culminating a process that had begun with their arrest and confinement in the La Picota prison in Bogotá.
From there, he was transferred to the Catam military base, where the US authorities were waiting for him to proceed with his deportation.
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