Jeffersson Arango Castellanos, 36, and his co-conspirators targeted, incapacitated, and kidnapped two U.S. soldiers in Bogota, officials stated.
On the evening of March 5, 2020, the two victims were in an entertainment district in Bogota. They visited a pub, where Arango and his co-conspirators incapacitated the two victims by putting drugs, including benzodiazepines, in their drinks.
They then kidnapped the victims and took their wallets, debit cards, credit cards, and cell phones.
Arango and his co-conspirators used one victim’s credit card and the other victim’s debit card to make purchases and withdraw money, officials stated.
The two victims lost consciousness until the following day, by which point they had been separated.
Arango pleaded guilty to 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.
A sentencing date has not yet been set.
In May 2023, Arango was extradited from Colombia to the United States pursuant to a U.S. extradition request.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogota, and the U.S. Marshals Service worked with Colombian law enforcement authorities to secure the arrest and extradition of Arango.
Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor and Elizabeth Nielsen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertila L. Fernandez for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.