JUL 22 -- (Manhattan, NY) - JOHN P. GILBRIDE, the Special Agent-in-Charge of
the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York Field Division ("DEA") and
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New
York, and, announced that GERARDO AGUILAR RAMIREZ, a/k/a "Cesar," a former
front commander in the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia
(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or "FARC"), was sentenced today to
27 years in prison for conspiring to import ton-quantities of cocaine into
the United States. The FARC -- which has been designated by the U.S. State
Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization is Colombia's main leftist
rebel group and is the world's leading cocaine manufacturer, responsible for
the production of nearly two-thirds of the cocaine imported into the United
States. AGUILAR RAMIREZ was sentenced by United States District Judge THOMAS
F. HOGAN in District of Columbia federal court.
News Release [print-friendly
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 22, 2010
Erin Mulvey
Public Information Officer
212 337-2906
Top FARC Commander Sentenced To 27 Years In Prison For Conspiring To Import
Tons Of Cocaine Into The United States
JUL 22 -- (Manhattan, NY) - JOHN P. GILBRIDE, the Special Agent-in-Charge of
the Drug Enforcement Administration's New York Field Division ("DEA") and
PREET BHARARA, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New
York, and, announced that GERARDO AGUILAR RAMIREZ, a/k/a "Cesar," a former
front commander in the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia
(Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or "FARC"), was sentenced today to
27 years in prison for conspiring to import ton-quantities of cocaine into
the United States. The FARC -- which has been designated by the U.S. State
Department as a Foreign Terrorist Organization is Colombia's main leftist
rebel group and is the world's leading cocaine manufacturer, responsible for
the production of nearly two-thirds of the cocaine imported into the United
States. AGUILAR RAMIREZ was sentenced by United States District Judge THOMAS
F. HOGAN in District of Columbia federal court.
DEA Special Agent-in-Charge JOHN P. GILBRIDE stated: "Gerardo Aguilar
Ramirez conspired to manufacture and distribute thousands of kilograms of
cocaine in the United States to fuel the FARC's narco-terrorist mission.
Ramirez violently commanded the 1st Front for over 10 years until his arrest
and today he has been sentenced and will pay for his crimes against American
and Colombian citizens who have seen the damages of cocaine trafficking and
abuse throughout both our nations. I commend the diligent and brave work of
the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, the
Organized Crime Strike Force, DEA's Bogota Country Office, and the Colombian
government."
According to the Superseding Indictment filed in District of Columbia
federal court, other documents filed in this case, and statements made in
court:
The FARC, which occupies large swaths of territory in Colombia, is a
hierarchical organization which, at its height during the time of the
conspiracy, was comprised of 12,000 to 18,000 members. At the lowest level,
the FARC is made up of 77 distinct military units, called Fronts, organized
by geographical location. These in turn are grouped into seven "blocs."
AGUILAR RAMIREZ was the commander of the FARC's 1 st Front and was
ultimately responsible for all of that Front's criminal activities. Among
other things, AGUILAR RAMIREZ conspired with others to manufacture and
distribute thousands of tons of cocaine in Colombia, with the knowledge and
intent that such cocaine would be imported into the United States.
In late 2001 or early 2002, the FARC leadership, including AGUILAR RAMIREZ,
participated in a meeting in which they further resolved, among other
things, to: increase cocaine trafficking routes overseas, including to the
United States; establish better ways to exchange cocaine and cocaine paste
for weapons; and to pay more to campesinos for cocaine paste.
AGUILAR RAMIREZ was captured on July 2, 2008, while holding three American
hostages KEITH STANSELL, THOMAS HOWES, and MARC GONSALVES. These three
men, and United States citizen TOM JANIS, were captured by the FARC in
February 2003, after their plane crashed in FARC-occupied territory in the
Colombian jungle. JANIS was executed, and the remaining three men were held
hostage by the FARC for over five years until they, and several Colombian
hostages, were freed in a Colombian military operation on the date of
AGUILAR RAMIREZ's capture. Subsequently, on July 16, 2009, AGUILAR RAMIREZ,
50, was extradited to the United States. AGUILAR RAMIREZ was originally
charged in a hostage-taking conspiracy as well as a narcotics importation
conspiracy, but the Colombian Supreme Court approved AGUILAR RAMIREZ's
extradition on narcotics charges only.
On December 16, 2009, during his guilty plea proceeding, AGUILAR RAMIREZ
acknowledged that from approximately 1998 through July 2, 2008, he was the
commander of the 1 Front st of the FARC and that he led and directed other
members of the 1 st Front in the manufacture and distribution of ton
quantities of cocaine, knowing and intending that the cocaine would be
imported into the United States.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney PREET BHARARA stated: "Today, Gerardo Aguilar
Ramirez -- a FARC commander and cocaine kingpin -- was brought to justice
for his role in leading the FARC's worldwide cocaine empire. The
incarceration of narco-terrorists like Aguilar Ramirez helps to choke the
international drug trade. This Office will continue to work with our
partners at the DEA to incapacitate dangerous narco-terrorists who seek to
pour drugs into the United States."
The investigation resulting in these charges was led by the United States
Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, working with the
New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Strike Force (which consists of
agents and officers from the DEA, the New York City Police Department, the
United States Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the
Department of Homeland Security's Bureau of Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the New York State
Police) and the DEA's Bogota, Colombia, Country Office. The investigation,
conducted under the auspices of the Department of Justice's Organized Crime
Drug Enforcement Task Force Program, involved unprecedented cooperation from
the Colombian government. Mr. BHARARA praised all the law enforcement
partners involved in the investigation, and thanked the Department of
Justice Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs, as well as
Criminal Division's Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section attachés in Bogota
for their involvement in the extradition process.
This case is being prosecuted in the District of Columbia by the United
States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York. Special
Assistant United States Attorneys PABLO QUIÑONES and RANDALL JACKSON, of the
Office's Terrorism and International Narcotics Unit, are in charge of the
prosecution.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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