The revealing details of the US conviction against Álvaro Córdoba

EL TIEMPO learned of the sentence for the first time and the considerations of the US prosecutor’s office to request the harsh sentence against Córdoba Ruíz, despite the fact that his defense requested a sentence of only 5 years.

(We invite you to read: Nicolás Petro’s lawyer asks to postpone trial preparatory hearing)

According to the Federal Prosecutor, The sentence “demonstrates the commitment of this Office to prosecute drug traffickers like Córdoba Ruíz, who seek to import tons of cocaine into the United States.”

In reading the sentence, the official warned that the weight of the law will fall with more strength for drug traffickers who “associate with violent drug trafficking organizations such as the FARC.”

According to court documents and more than three hundred recorded calls and meetings that took place over more than a year, Córdoba Ruíz “conspired with his co-defendants and other individuals associated with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Farc) to obtain and distribute tons of cocaine destined for the United States.”

The co-defendants in this process are: Amanda Libia Palacio Mena (‘Palacio’) and Alberto Alonso Jaramillo Ramírez (‘Jaramillo’).

Furthermore, it is detailed that the convicted person also “negotiated with individuals he believed to be drug traffickers for a drug trafficking organization based in Mexico (the “Mexican OTD”) who sought to establish a cocaine supply line from Venezuela and Colombia to the United States.”

But In reality, these people were confidential sources working under the direction of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)..

It is detailed that in communications recorded during the investigation, Córdoba Ruíz, “agreed to help to the planned cocaine business through its political and logistical connections in Colombia.”

According to the file, in the different calls, the accused “described his connections with his sister, a powerful politician in Colombia named Piedad Córdoba, indicating thatin exchange for financial and political support, she would help facilitate a cocaine association between the defendants and the Mexican DTO.”

“He connected confidential sources who were supposedly members of the Mexican organization with a Colombian politician, conveying that, in exchange for financial and political support, this would help facilitate a cocaine association between the accused, his partner-conspirators and confidential sources that supposedly function as the Mexican OTD,” the file reads.

The sentence states that the convicted man also related the confidential sources “to individuals who offered to provide large quantities of cocaine and security for the promised cocaine shipments.”

For example, in a call telephone recorded on September 10, 2020, the file describes that CS-3 (confidential source) introduced Palacio to CS-1, who pretended to be the head of CS-3 in the Mexican OTD“so that they could discuss the establishment of a cocaine supply line from Colombia and Venezuela.”
During another meeting, which was recorded on audio and video, CS-2 told Palacio “that the cocaine would be sent to CS-2’s clients in New York and other locations in the United States.”

There is another key piece of information in the process and that is that in December 2021, to demonstrate its good faith and establish the quality of its supply, Córdoba Ruiz “sold confidential sources a five-kilogram sample of cocaine containing a high level of purity; Laboratory tests show that the cocaine was between 86.6% and 89.1% pure.”

Investigations showed that the drugs had left a farm associated with the FARC on the outskirts of Medellín. “Armed men were stationed at the entrance to the farm where an unidentified male arrived and gave CS-2 approximately five kilograms of a substance that later tested positive for high-purity cocaine.”

“The defendant, Palacio and CS-2 then returned to Medellín, where they met with an undercover officer (UC) working with the Colombian National Police, who was posing as a CS-2 associate. The UC delivered a bag approximately $15,000 in US currency to CS-2. CS-2 then took the money out of the bag and counted it with the accused and Palacio. “Then they transferred the five kilograms of cocaine to the bag,” the file reads.

After the successful five-kilogram sample, the defendants focused on finalizing the next step of their association, a large shipment of cocaine bound for the United States.

“On February 2, 2022, the defendants and CS-2 met in Medellín. At the meeting, Jaramillo—who was alone on a balcony with CS-2 at the time—arranged for CS-2 to meet with an individual described as “Comandante Martín” at a FARC camp to discuss an initial shipment of 500 or 1000 kilograms; “verify production”, that is, the coca fields, and discuss what “brand”, that is, seal, would be placed on the cocaine,” the document details.

At that moment, the file reads, “Jaramillo stated that “Commander Martín”, commander of the Southern Block of the FARC, would carry a rifle on his back and uniform.

Jaramillo stated that he hoped that “Commander Martín” would be able to remove the shipment in four or five days”, in addition that ‘Commander Martín’ had his cocaine laboratories, landing strips and vehicles at his command.

A few days after those meetings, the arrests materialized. Córdoba Ruíz was arrested in February 2022, while negotiating the shipment of approximately 500 kilograms of cocaine per week to the United States.

In January 2023, he was extradited from Colombia to the United States. On January 2, 2024, he pleaded guilty.

In addition to the 14-year prison sentence, Córdoba Ruiz, 65, was sentenced to four years of supervised release.