Colombian National Sentenced To 14 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Import Tons Of Cocaine Into The United States

Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ÁLVARO FREDY CÓRDOBA RUÍZ was sentenced to 14 years in prison today for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States.  CÓRDOBA RUÍZ pled guilty on January 2, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman, who imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Today’s sentence demonstrates this Office’s commitment to prosecuting drug traffickers like Córdoba Ruíz, who seek to import tons of cocaine into the United States.  Those who seek to flood our streets with narcotics will face serious consequences, especially when they partner with violent drug trafficking organizations like the FARC.  I commend the efforts of our law enforcement partners and the career prosecutors of this Office who work tirelessly to investigate and disrupt these complex drug importation networks.  Their work has a profound impact on countless lives in our communities.”

According to court documents and statements made during court proceedings:[1]

CÓRDOBA RUÍZ conspired with his co-defendants and other individuals associated with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (“FARC”) — a violent organization based in Colombia that was dedicated to the overthrow of the Colombian government and responsible for the production and distribution of the majority of the cocaine that eventually reached the United States — to source and distribute tons of cocaine destined for the United States.  CÓRDOBA RUÍZ negotiated with individuals he believed to be narcotics traffickers from a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (the “Mexican DTO”) seeking to establish a cocaine supply line from Venezuela to the United States.  These individuals, however, were actually confidential sources working at the direction of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”).

In recorded communications during the investigation, CÓRDOBA RUÍZ agreed to assist the planned cocaine venture through his political and logistics connections in Colombia.  With respect to the former, CÓRDOBA RUÍZ connected confidential sources purporting to be members of the Mexican DTO with a Colombian politician, conveying that, in exchange for financial and political support, the politician would help to facilitate a cocaine partnership between the defendant, his co-conspirators, and the confidential sources purportedly functioning as the Mexican DTO.  CÓRDOBA RUÍZ also connected the confidential sources with individuals who offered to provide large quantities of cocaine and security for the promised cocaine loads.  In December 2021, to prove their bona fides and establish the quality of their supply, CÓRDOBA RUÍZ sold the confidential sources a five-kilogram sample of cocaine containing a high level of purity — lab tests demonstrate the cocaine was between 86.6% to 89.1% pure — from a FARC-associated farm outside of Medellín.  CÓRDOBA RUÍZ was arrested in Colombia in February 2022, while negotiating a much larger partnership with the Mexican DTO, which contemplated the shipment of approximately 500 kilograms of cocaine per week.

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In addition to the prison term, CÓRDOBA RUÍZ, 65, of Medellín, Colombia, was sentenced to four years of supervised release.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit and Bogotá Country Office, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (“OCDETF”) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas S. Bradley, Kaylan E. Lasky, and Kevin T. Sullivan are in charge of the prosecution.