Colombia’s National Police extradited five Colombian nationals to the United States on August 6, 2026, handing them over to US federal authorities in connection with investigations into drug trafficking, money laundering and transnational organized crime.

The five men were delivered by officers from the Dirección de Investigación Criminal e Interpol (DIJIN) and transported under security escort on a flight accompanied by the US Marshals Service. The extraditions followed requests from US courts and investigations involving alleged cocaine trafficking, financial operations and international arms networks.

“This extradition represents a decisive blow against networks involved in drug trafficking, money laundering and crimes against collective security operating in the region.” – Policía Nacional de Colombia

Alleged arms-for-cocaine network

Among those extradited was Wilmar Cortés Hurtado, who is wanted by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy charges.

Wisam Nagib Kherfan Okde and Alirio Rafael Quintero Quintero were also handed over to US authorities. Colombian investigators accuse the pair of leading a criminal organization involved in money laundering and international arms trafficking.

According to the Colombian government, investigators allege that the organization used connections with members of the regime of Bashar al-Assad in Syria to divert military weapons. Those weapons were allegedly subsequently routed to structures of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN) in exchange for cocaine shipments between 2024 and 2025.

The investigation also alleges that cryptocurrency and complex financial transactions in countries such as Ghana and Morocco were used to facilitate money laundering connected to drug trafficking organizations and terrorist groups.

The allegations have not been established as findings of guilt, and the defendants will face proceedings in the United States.

Cocaine trafficking and international routes

Helmer Hurtado Hurtado, also wanted by the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, was extradited on drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy charges connected to an international narcotics investigation.

Jacob Estenyer Jory Salazar was also among the five. Colombian authorities allege that he coordinated cocaine shipments destined for the United States and Mexico using multiple transportation methods, including speedboats, container vessels, semi-submersible vessels and aircraft.

Seven additional extraditions

The August 6 handover followed the extradition of seven other individuals to the United States and Panama during the previous week.

Six Colombian nationals were delivered to US authorities. They included Jheison Rodríguez López and Edilberto López Farelo, who were initially taken to the Unidad de Reacción Inmediata in Valledupar after their capture. Colombian authorities said the two attempted to escape from the facility but were immediately recaptured.

Eufrosino Ramos Díaz was captured during a raid at his residence and faces extradition proceedings in the United States on a charge involving a conspiracy to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine.

Daniel Alfonso de la Rosa Robles and Pedro Lucas Robles Iguarán were identified by Colombian authorities as alleged members of a trafficking network that obtained narcotics from clandestine laboratories in the Catatumbo region and Alta Guajira. Investigators allege that the pair coordinated maritime shipments using speedboats to move cocaine toward Central America and the Caribbean, with the United States as the final destination.

Nilson Snyder Vásquez Duarte, known as “El Sobri,” was identified as an alleged financial operator responsible for receiving and managing large sums of money generated by drug trafficking organizations, with alleged connections to Colombian and Mexican cartels.

The seventh person extradited during the previous week was Panamanian national Jorge Antonio Zurita Julian, known as “El Gordo Pibe,” who was handed over to Panamanian authorities. He is wanted in Panama on money laundering and crimes against collective security charges related to drug trafficking. Colombian investigators allege that he used a company registered in his wife’s name to disguise illicit funds as legitimate business proceeds.

The extraditions form part of Colombia’s continuing cooperation with foreign authorities through DIJIN and Interpol. The individuals remain subject to judicial proceedings in the requesting countries, and the allegations described by Colombian authorities have not resulted in final convictions.

Headline photo: Five men being escorted to board on the plane extraditing them to the US. (Photo by the Colombian National Police)

Despite the tower’s collapse, EPM reported that there were no resulting power service interruptions in the city.

In the immediate aftermath, Medellín Mayor Federico “Fico” Gutiérrez stated that police were initially called to the area to investigate the presence of a flag alluding to the FARC’s 36th Front. After detonations were heard, the damage to the EPM tower was confirmed.

The mayor announced that the attack was believed to be a direct response to a successful operation by the National Police of Colombia in the municipality of Campamento, Antioquia, which resulted in the deaths of four members of the dissident group.

“This terrorist act is in response to the blow and takedown that the National Police dealt to this structure today in Campamento,” Gutiérrez stated. “We are going to continue putting a price on all terrorists. They will fall because they will fall. We are offering up to $200 million COP for information on the material and intellectual authors of the attack against the power tower.”

🚨🚨🚨A todos los terroristas les vamos a seguir poniendo precio. Caen porque caen. Ofrecemos hasta $200 millones de pesos para quien nos dé información de los responsables materiales e intelectuales de la afectación contra la torre de energía el día de hoy.
Colombia 🇨🇴 debe… pic.twitter.com/vR8MjDpDni

— Fico Gutiérrez (@FicoGutierrez) September 11, 2025

The governor of Antioquia, Andrés Julián Rendón, echoed the mayor’s assessment and announced an extraordinary security council meeting. “This is the front of ‘Calarcá,’ the same criminal with whom Petro insists on negotiating ‘total peace,” Governor Rendón remarked, referencing the national government’s ongoing peace negotiation policies.

EPM technical teams were dispatched to the scene immediately, but were unable to begin repairs. The area first had to be secured by anti-explosives units from the National Army of Colombia and the National Police to ensure no other explosive devices remained.

Security Response and Investigation Developments

Two days after the attack, on Friday, September 12, authorities announced a significant reinforcement of security in Medellín with the arrival of 480 new members of the Public Forces. The contingent, presented at the Bomboná Battalion, includes 350 soldiers from units such as the PM4, Special Forces, and the Rapid Deployment Force, along with 130 specialized police officers from the Search Block, GOES (Special Operations Groups), Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Kidnapping Group), and intelligence and investigation units (Sipol, Sijín, Dijín).

Addressing the newly arrived forces, Mayor Gutiérrez defined their objective clearly. “The best way to protect ourselves and our citizens is by neutralizing the terrorist threat. That is the mission that has been entrusted to you as soldiers and police of the homeland,” he said, adding that the task is to completely dismantle the 36th Front of the FARC dissidents. “Medellín cannot be a den for criminals; we are going to continue fighting.”

The operational plan includes:

• 24-hour checkpoints on main roads and access points.
• Joint Army-Police patrols at major intersections.
• Combined patrols by GOES and Special Forces in peripheral areas.
• Raids to search for explosives and criminal group members.

Enhanced surveillance of strategic infrastructure using cameras and drones, supplemented by nocturnal air patrols with police and Colombian Air Force helicopters.

Authorities also updated the reward system, offering up to $50 million COP for information that prevents terrorist acts and up to $100 million COP for intelligence leading to the capture of the dissident leader in the department, known as alias ‘Primo Gay’.

Mayor Gutiérrez also reported a breakthrough in the investigation, announcing the capture of alias ‘el Sastre’ or ‘el Pío’ during a raid in the Manrique neighborhood. The individual is believed to be a logistics manager for the 36th Front. During the operation, authorities seized 19 flags identical to the one left at the tower site and communication equipment.

“These radios were not for communication,” Gutiérrez pointed out, “but to activate explosive charges.”

An attack using explosives destroyed a high-voltage electrical tower belonging to EPM. Photo credit: Es tendencia en Colombia/X.

Uribe Turbay was later transferred to a better equipped hospital in the north of Bogotá where he underwent cranial surgery due to the gravity of his wounds. As of Sunday morning, June 8^th, Uribe’s surgery was successful, though he remains in critical condition. The CTI, Colombia’s equivalent of the FBI, and DIJIN, the national police’s investigative unit, have possession of the youth’s phone and are analyzing messages and contacts.

The following day, Sunday, June 8th, thousands took to the streets in major Colombian cities in solidarity with Uribe Turbay, expressing not necessarily support of his particular candidacy, but rejection of political violence.

Uribe is a “pre-candidate” for Colombia’s presidential elections next May. Pre-candidates are competing within their respective political parties to become the party’s official candidate for the upcoming elections. Other pre-candidates may bypass the party endorsement system by collecting enough signatures to appear on the ballot.

Uribe Turbay belongs to the Centro Democratico political party, controlled by former President Alvaro Uribe, though the two are not related. Uribe Turbay is the son of journalist Diana Consuelo Turbay Quintero, who in 1991 was kidnapped by Pablo Escobar’s Medellín Cartel in 1991 and died in their custody during a failed rescue attempt. In turn, Diana Turbay was the daughter of Julio César Turbay Ayala, who was president of Colombia from 1978 to 1982.

#ATENCIÓN. Se conoce un video que deja ver el momento cuando el congresista Miguel Uribe Turbay recibe los impactos de bala mientras daba un discurso en un parque del b/Modelia.

En desarrollo… https://t.co/HAlu4typX7 pic.twitter.com/d612iyMl37

— Colombia Oscura (@ColombiaOscura_) June 7, 2025

During Julio César Turbay Ayala’s administration, the M-19 rebel group attacked the Dominican embassy in Bogotá, holding several ambassadors hostage, including those from the US, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Israel, and Peru. Colombia’s current leftist President Gustavo Petro was a member of the now-disbanded M-19 guerillas.

Political repercussions

Colombia is in a state of high political tensions, as the leftist president Gustavo Petro, a former armed guerilla, is in the process of attempting to bypass the system of checks and balances and hold a referendum on his labor reforms. The labor reform bill failed to pass congress, and the referendum itself also failed to pass congress, but he is insisting on moving forward with the measure, provoking a constitutional crisis.

Miguel Uribe and his Centro Democratico party have been opponents of the president’s populist agenda, as have several other major political parties, and even a number of the president’s former ministers.

President Petro condemned the assassination attempt and ordered an investigation into Uribe Turbay’s security detail. The government is offering a reward of up to approximately $780,000 USD for information on the perpetrators. All other presidential candidates condemned the attempt and denounced the plague of political violence and common criminality that Colombia suffers from.

Supporters of Petro had called for public marches in support of the president’s proposed reforms for this Wednesday, June 11. This assassination attempt ratchets up tensions, as it recalls “El Bogotazo,” the riots and burning of Bogotá in 1948 after the assassination of presidential candidate Jorge Eliécer Gaitán. The assassination and the repercussions, against the context of political violence between the two main political parties—Liberals and Conservatives—of that time, were ingredients in the rise of communist armed insurgencies during the 1960s of the FARC, ELN, and EPL, and as a response, vigilante groups like the AUC, which later morphed into common mafias.

Who might want Uribe Turbay dead?

• Narcotics mafias – Uribe Turbay’s mother was a victim of Pablo Escobar’s mafia and died when he was just a toddler. He may be expected to crack down hard on these criminal organizations if elected, unlike the current administration of Gustavo Petro, who has through his policies, given them space to regroup and rebuild.
• Left-wing militants – Uribe Turbay belongs to the right-wing (despite the name) Centro Democrático political party, led by former President Alvaro Uribe, which takes a hard-line eradication policy against leftist groups like the ELN and the dissident remnants of the FARC after the 2016 peace accords. Alvaro Uribe has accumulated many political enemies, and not just left-wing ideologues. Still, the leftist militants, like the mafias, have been given space under the current administration to reorganize and strengthen their presence in Colombia. They could expect Uribe Turbay and his partisans to work to eradicate these groups once and for all.
• Current government – very unlikely, as political assassination is not a traditional modus operandi of Colombian governments. And there is no clear benefit the current administration would have by Uribe Turbay’s death. If anything, large segments of the population will blame the current administration, so such a move would not bring them any benefit, especially at the early pre-candidacy stage, where should Uribe Turbay die, it will not prevent a strong opposition candidate from emerging.
• Right-wing rivals – very unlikely, though conspiracy theories are circulating that he was either sacrificed for the effect it would have (sympathy vote), or to move a strong competitor aside for the many rivals that want to represent the opposition. At this time, without evidence, Finance Colombia discounts these theories as wild conjecture, but the thread is worth following.
• Unknown personal beef – This is surprisingly frequent, where an action that appears politically motivated, is actually to settle scores of a personal or business matter, and unrelated to political ideology or ambition. Again, unlikely, but possible.

Witness photo of a car bloodied from the senator’s wounds as rescuers struggled to render first aid.

Continue to follow Finance Colombia for updates on Miguel Uribe Turbay and the situation as it evolves.

Headline photo: Presidential candidate and Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay with his wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona. (source: social media)

The group is accused of recruiting women from Lleras Park in Medellín and the metropolitan area of the Aburrá Valley to send them to Greece, specifically Athens and Thessaloniki, where they were forced into prostitution.

The investigation began after victims, rescued from nightclubs and private locations in Greece, reported their experiences. These women, predominantly from low-income backgrounds, had been lured from Medellín with false promises of legitimate employment. Upon arrival in Greece, they were coerced into prostitution under dire conditions.

The victims were either recruited in person or through social media platforms. Once under the network’s control, they were burdened with insurmountable debts and fined up to €3,600 for supposed expenses never disclosed beforehand. Their identification documents were confiscated, and they were subjected to inhumane treatment, including being forced to provide sexual services to more than 30 men daily.

Alias “Juan David,” the alleged leader of the network, was apprehended in El Hoyo, a rural area of Barbosa where he had been hiding for nearly a year. Among his possessions authorities recovered a 16-gauge shotgun, multiple cartridges, and approximately one pound of marijuana. Investigators revealed that “Juan David” was not only avoiding the law enforcement, but also members of his own criminal organization due to internal disputes over payments related to victim trafficking.

From 2017 to the present, the investigation uncovered evidence linking “Juan David” to the trafficking of numerous women to destinations worldwide, particularly Greece. The victims were forced into unprotected sexual services, which resulted in many contracting sexually transmitted diseases.

In June 2023, a collaborative operation between the Hellenic Police of Greece and DIJIN led to the rescue of 54 Colombian women from Antioquia. Of these, 14 were repatriated to Colombia.

In addition to “Juan David,” authorities arrested two women in Enciso, a neighborhood in Medellín. These individuals were allegedly responsible for recruiting, transporting, and sheltering the victims before they were trafficked abroad.

Legal Proceedings

The suspects were presented before a Judge of Guarantees Control. Alias “Juan David” and one of the women were remanded to prison, while the second woman was placed under house arrest. The Attorney General’s Office charged the suspects with aggravated human trafficking, illegal manufacturing and possession of firearms, and trafficking, manufacturing or carrying of narcotics.

Headline photo: Alias “Juan David” being apprehended (Photo: Policia Nacional de Colombia) 

See also: Finance Colombia » Medellín’s New Mayor Cracking Down on Vice and Sex Tourism Amid Local Fury

During the course of the proceedings, prosecutors demonstratied that the American, between May 2017 and May 2018, entered the country on seven occasions, through the José María Córdova airport, in Rionegro, a suburb of Medellín. It also became evident that during his trips he stayed in Medellín, located the girls and adolescents he had previously contacted; and, in exchange for money, induced them to perform sexual acts.

US and Colombian authorities working together

On September 5, 2018, the Medellín Section of the Attorney General’s Office received reports from the United States government that a computer in the capital of Antioquia was used to solicit sexual services from children and adolescents.

The information referred to conversations on Facebook and Messenger chat platforms, in which Renno offered up to $100 for girls under 18 years of age.

The man involved in the conversations was identified as Thomas Michael Renno who, according to the evidence collected, sought to evade action by the authorities with three different profiles (Tom Renno, Tom Rene and Tom Reinolds) that he also used to share photographs, videos and other types of pornographic material.

The process revealed that the Californian entered the country on seven occasions between May 9, 2017 and May 26, 2018. During this period, he allegedly committed illegal activities with girls and adolescents.

Capture

Renno, an American national carrying a cédula (national identification) issued by Colombian authorities, arrived last Thursday at the José María Córdova International Airport in Rionegro (Antioquia), from San Francisco,California.

The U.S. Embassy in Colombia warned Colombian counterparts that the man might visit Medellín between March 26 and 28, so investigators from the National Police’s DIJIN investigative branch waited for him at the airport and executed the arrest warrant obtained by the Prosecutor’s Office.

The timely intervention and coordination between Colombian and U.S. authorities prevented the physical and psychological harm to more minors, given that there is evidence of Renno’s prior contacts with hotels and tour operators that allegedly provided him with underage victims and offered him lodging.

The data provided was verified with the testimony of the mother of one of the young women contacted, who stated that the telephone number and location data of the American citizen appeared on her daughter’s cell phone. Added to this evidence were emails, messages and photographs found on the captured man’s phone.

Crimes

Thomas Michael Renno was brought before a judge in Medellín, where his capture was legalized, as were the elements obtained, and he was charged with the following crimes:

• Demand for commercial exploitation with a person under 18 years of age, aggravated (for being a tourist and involving minors).
• Pornography with persons under 18 years of age in homogeneous and successive concurrence.
• Use or facilitation of social media to offer sexual activities, aggravated in homogeneous and successive concurrence.

The man involved in the conversations was identified as Thomas Michael Renno who, according to the evidence collected, sought to evade action by the authorities with three different profiles (Tom Renno, Tom Rene and Tom Reinolds) that he also used to share photographs, videos and other types of pornographic material.

Colombia’s attorney general indicated that Elhassen is wanted for belonging to a transnational drug trafficking network active in Europe, Asia & South America.

Recently, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that it detected the location of the Australian citizen and more than 500 other global criminals thanks to the launch of a mobile messaging smartphone app called ‘ANOM’. This system, created in conjunction with the Australian Federal Police, was distributed via the “dark web” in a targeted and secret way to different criminal groups around the world as a supposed secure communication mechanism.

In reality, the data and information shared over this app was being monitored by United States federal law enforcement authorities, the true designers and distributors of the app.

The International Affairs Directorate of the Colombian prosecutor’s office, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informed the United States Embassy about the capture of Osemah Elhassen for the purposes of formalizing the extradition request within the term established by law.

In 2013, then US Attorney Preet Bharara called Gozi one of the most financially destructive computer viruses in history.

Paunescu is accused by US prosecutors as being part of the cybercriminal network that designed the ‘Gozi’ malware. This malicious software was sent in e-mails as an attached file that, when downloaded, infiltrated the computers of large companies and government entities, accessed privileged data such as bank passwords, numbers and identification documents; and intercepted and diverted money transfers, among other fraudulent actions.

According to the US State Department, this Trojan-type virus infected computers in the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland, France, Finland, Italy, and Turkey. Some of the victims are multinationals, banks and organizations such as NASA.

Mihai Ionut Paunescu was placed at the disposal of Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office after his arrest by the DIJIN investigative unit of the National Police. The United States Embassy was immediately contacted so that it could initiate extradition proceedings.

To read the 2012 charges against Paunescu, click here.

The Office of the Attorney General charged 24 people before the Second Municipal Court of Quimbaya, Quindío for their alleged responsibility in the crimes of conspiracy to commit a crime, aggravated fraud in mass modality, aggravated violation of personal data and non-consensual transfer of assets.

The investigation carried out by a prosecutor of the Support Structure of the Quindío Section, with the support of SIJÍN (Colombia’s regional domestic intelligence organ) and INCOCRÉDITO (Colombia’s financial industry anti-fraud association), and demonstrated that the defendants are part of the Organized Common Crime Group (GDCO) “Los Call Center.”

In accordance with the provisions, those now prosecuted allegedly managed seven front call centers located in Quimbaya, Quindío, Manizales, Caldas and Dosquebradas, Risaralda where they exercised roles as owners, liaisons with banks, administrators, supervisors and advisers in order to deceive their victims.

Prosecutors say that they bought financial databases with confidential information to access victims whom they called posing as bank advisers offering different products or inducing them to acquire portfolios of services that they had never requested, under pretexts such as it was mandatory to purchase insurance or that they were recipients of a gift, as well as handling fee waivers.

Due to these facts, the judge ordered custodial and non-custodial security measures for the 24 suspects investigated, as follows:

Jail Awaiting Trial

• Doman Betancur Montes
• Estefanía Corrales Grisales
• Juan Manuel Correa Grisales

House Arrest

• María Eugenia Ríos Tabares (alleged leader)
• Duván Obando Valencia (alleged leader)
• Erika Gómez Martínez
• Yesenia Soto Loaiza

Released Pending Trial

• Yeison David López Villa
• Zaira Patricia Pomares Díaz
• Jenny Carolina Villada Largo
• Manuela Cárdenas Gil
• Yenny Natalia Ramirez Montes
• Sara Inés Ramírez Castro
• Diana Patricia Arévalo Castellanos
• Astrid Carolina Agudelo Jiménez
• Sandra Viviana Cardona
• María Camila Velásquez Agudelo
• Natalia Arenas López
• María Antonia Ospina Cardona
• Yolima Zapata Carvajal
• Erika García Cárdenas
• Paola Jiseth Duque Ramírez
• Carmen Emilia Álvarez Barahona (accused at liberty)
• Felipe Ramírez Mejía (accused at liberty)

Through the investigation in which sufficient material probative elements and physical evidence were collected, it was determined that 16 national banks and 4 international banks were affected, with a confirmed fraud of $5,062,904,251 COP. Likewise, financial data of 18,470 people were found in Colombia and other countries, and 6,929 records referring to claims of fraud, non-consensual purchases or without specification of the type of claim, of which more than 3,500 victims were identified.

Legally obtained interceptions account for the way in which the databases would have been purchased, in addition to the exchange and commercialization of data reserved for making non-consensual purchases in different commercial establishments.

The suspects were captured in the middle of six raids carried out by members of the SIJÍN on September 15 last in Manizales and Villamaría (Caldas), and Pereira and Dosquebradas (Risaralda), achieving the seizure of 116 hard drives, 2,300 pages with databases, 5 cell phones, 4 computers, a car for domain extinction purposes and two properties for confiscation purposes.

Image courtesy Policia Nacional