'El Mocho Olmedo', Leader of U.S.-Designated Terrorist Group FARC-EP's 'Frente 33', Extradited from Colombia to Miami on Cocaine Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges

MIAMI, United States

A leader of "Frente 33," a subordinate unit of the U.S.-designated terrorist organization FARC-EP (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army), has been extradited from Colombia to the United States to face trial on federal cocaine trafficking and money laundering charges. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida announced on October 23 (local time) that Willinton Henao Gutierrez, 45, also known as "El Mocho Olmedo," was extradited on Thursday (local time) from Colombia to the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.

Prosecutors identified Henao Gutierrez as the leader of Frente 33, a component of FARC-EP, a FARC dissident group. The announcement was made jointly by Jason A. Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Miles Aley, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division.

According to Court Records… Cocaine Trafficking Organization Linking Colombia and South Florida

According to court records, Henao Gutierrez and his co-conspirators participated in an international drug trafficking conspiracy involving five kilograms or more of cocaine from September 2021 through August 2022. According to prosecutors, the conspiracy operated in Colombia and South Florida, including Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

According to prosecutors, Henao Gutierrez and his co-conspirators agreed to transfer funds from the United States to abroad, as well as to and through multiple places outside the United States, to promote the manufacturing, importing, selling, and distributing of a controlled substance.

Henao Gutierrez is charged with four counts: conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to distribute cocaine knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it would be unlawfully imported into the United States, conspiring to commit money laundering, and attempted money laundering. Jennifer Tapiero, Heyner Raul Sandoval Salazar, and Wilder Antonio Sanchez Duarte were also indicted in the same case.

According to prosecutors, if convicted, Henao Gutierrez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison up to life imprisonment on each of the two drug trafficking conspiracy counts. He faces up to 20 years in prison on each of the money laundering counts. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The case number is 23-cr-20070.

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida also posted news of the extradition to its official X account on October 23, stating, "This case demonstrates the resolve of the United States to pursue transnational criminal organizations wherever they operate, and ensure that those who traffic dangerous drugs into our country are held accountable."

Judicial Attaché in Bogotá and Office of International Affairs Secured Arrest and Extradition

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the arrest and extradition of Henao Gutierrez were secured by the Justice Department's Judicial Attaché in Bogotá and the Office of International Affairs (OIA). The U.S. Department of Justice expressed gratitude for the support and cooperation of the Colombian Attorney General's Office Technical Investigation Body (Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación, CTI). The case is being investigated by the DEA Miami Field Division and the DEA Bogotá Country Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Yara Dodin is prosecuting the case.

Special Agent in Charge Miles Aley of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division stated in a post on the official X account, "This extradition is the result of years of meticulous case work and close collaboration with our Colombian partners on the front lines of this fight against terrorist organizations that spread dangerous drugs around the world."

The Ministry of National Defense of Colombia posted on its official X account on October 23 that seven Colombian citizens were handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service (@USMarshalsHQ) and extradited to the United States for crimes related to drug trafficking, money laundering, and transnational fraud. The Ministry stated that those extradited included alias 'Mocho Olmedo,' the alleged leader of Frente 33; alias 'Cholo Banano,' an alleged financial operator for the drug cartel 'Clan del Golfo'; and alias 'Chocó' or 'Ñato,' linked to the Venezuelan criminal organizations 'Tren de Aragua' and 'La Inmaculada.' The Ministry assessed the operation as an advance in international judicial cooperation against criminal organizations and their sources of financing, led by the Directorate of Criminal Investigation and Interpol (DIJIN) and the National Police of Colombia. The Ministry added, "We will continue working with international authorities to pursue organized crime and bring to justice those who commit crimes in the 'Patria Milagro.'" The Ministry included a video in its post.

U.S. Department of State Designated FARC-EP as Foreign Terrorist Organization in 2021

On November 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of State, in a statement by then-Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, designated FARC-EP and another dissident group, "Segunda Marquetalia," as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224. On the same day, the U.S. Department of State revoked the FTO and SDGT designations of the former FARC, which had officially disbanded and disarmed pursuant to the 2016 Peace Accord. The U.S. Department of State assessed that the former FARC no longer exists as a unified organization that engages in or has the capability or intent to engage in terrorism or terrorist activity. The U.S. Department of State announced that the revocation of the designations does not change its stance regarding domestic or potential U.S. prosecutions of former FARC leadership for drug trafficking and other offenses.

In its statement at the time, the U.S. Department of State also cited decisions by Colombia's Special Jurisdiction for Peace determining that actions by former FARC leadership constituted crimes against humanity, emphasizing that revoking the designations does not erase that record. The U.S. Department of State announced that revoking the former FARC's designations would better enable the United States to support the implementation of the 2016 Peace Accord, including cooperation with demobilized combatants. The U.S. Department of State announced that the designations of FARC-EP and Segunda Marquetalia target groups that refused to disarm and are engaging in terrorist activity.

According to the U.S. Department of State, Segunda Marquetalia was created in August 2019 by former FARC commanders, including Luciano Marin Arango (alias 'Iván Márquez'), who abandoned the 2016 Peace Accord. The U.S. Department of State identified Marin Arango as the founder and overall leader of Segunda Marquetalia. The U.S. Department of State announced that the group is responsible for killings of former FARC members and community leaders, mass destruction, assassinations, hostage-taking including the kidnapping of government employees for ransom, and attempted killings of political leaders. The U.S. Department of State identified Hernan Dario Velasquez Saldarriaga (alias 'El Paisa') as the group's military commander and Henry Castellanos Garzon (alias 'Romaña') as a senior leader responsible for military operations. The U.S. Department of State also designated six leaders of the two organizations as Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

According to the U.S. Department of State, FARC-EP is an organization operating under the former FARC's name, led by Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez (alias 'Iván Mordisco') and Miguel Santanilla Botache (alias 'Gentil Duarte'). The U.S. Department of State identified Vera Fernandez as the commander and overall leader of FARC-EP, and Santanilla Botache as a FARC-EP commander and deputy to Vera Fernandez. The U.S. Department of State announced that FARC-EP has been responsible for the vast majority of armed attacks attributed to FARC dissident groups since 2019, as well as killings of political candidates and former FARC members, and kidnappings of political figures. The U.S. Department of State identified Euclides Espana Caicedo (aliases 'Jhonier' and 'Jhon Fredy Henao Muñoz') as a top commander overseeing multiple FARC-EP units across key regions.

The U.S. Department of State placed three FARC-EP leaders—Vera Fernandez, Santanilla Botache, and Espana Caicedo—on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.

According to the U.S. Department of State, as a result of the designations, all property and interests in property of these organizations and individuals are blocked and must be reported to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's OFAC. Persons that engage in certain transactions with the designated entities may themselves be exposed to sanctions, and any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant financial transaction or provides significant financial services for a designated entity could be subject to U.S. correspondent account sanctions. The U.S. Department of State specified that knowingly providing, or attempting or conspiring to provide, material support or resources to FARC-EP or Segunda Marquetalia is a criminal offense.

FARC-EP remains listed on the U.S. Department of State's Foreign Terrorist Organizations page. The U.S. Department of State stated that FTO designations play a critical role in the fight against terrorism, serving as an effective means of curtailing support for terrorist activities and pressuring groups to get out of the terrorism business. According to the U.S. Department of State, representatives and members of designated groups, if aliens, are inadmissible to the United States and, in certain circumstances, removable. Any U.S. financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which a designated group or its agent has an interest must retain possession of the funds and report them to the U.S. Department of the Treasury's OFAC. The U.S. Department of State cited as effects of the designations the support of efforts to disrupt terrorist financing, international isolation of designated entities, deterrence of donations and economic transactions, and heightened public awareness of terrorist organizations.

Leadership of Designated Terrorist Organization in U.S. Court

According to prosecutors, Henao Gutierrez, a leader of an organization under FARC-EP—which the United States has designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization—has been extradited to the United States with the cooperation of Colombian authorities to stand before a U.S. federal court on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. The Ministry of National Defense of Colombia announced that those extradited included not only the FARC dissident but also a financial operator for Clan del Golfo and figures linked to Tren de Aragua. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida advised that relevant court documents and information can be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida and through the federal court electronic records system (PACER) under case number 23-cr-20070.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Sources (KST)

• U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida Press Release, "Leader of FARC Dissident Group Extradited to South Florida to Face Federal Cocaine Trafficking and Money Laundering Charges" (2026-10-23): https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdfl/pr/leader-farc-dissident-group-extradited-south-florida-face-federal-cocaine-trafficking
• U.S. Department of State Statement, "Revocation of the Terrorist Designations of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Additional Terrorist Designations" (2021-11-30): https://2021-2025.state.gov/revocation-of-the-terrorist-designations-of-the-revolutionary-armed-forces-of-colombia-farc-and-additional-terrorist-designations/
• U.S. Department of State "Foreign Terrorist Organizations" page: https://www.state.gov/foreign-terrorist-organizations/
• Official X post by the Ministry of National Defense of Colombia (2026-10-23): https://x.com/mindefensa/status/2113742782624121319
• Official X post by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida (2026-10-23): https://x.com/USAO_SDFL/status/2113741514186846421
• Official X post by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division: https://x.com/DEAMIAMIDiv/status/2114753362860163336