Leader of Colombian Terrorist Organization Pleads Guilty to Narcotics Trafficking Charges

Diego Fernando Murillo-Bejarano, the top leader of the Autodefensas Unidas De Colombia (AUC), a former Colombian paramilitary group designated by the U.S. Department of State as a foreign terrorist organization, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, announced U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Michael J. Garcia and Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Michele M. Leonhart.

Murillo-Bejarano, a/k/a “Don Berna,” “Don Bernardo” and “Adolfo Paz,” pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman. Murillo-Bejarano pleaded guilty to count one of the indictment, which charges him with conspiring to import multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the United States and conspiring to distribute this cocaine with the knowledge and intent that it would be imported into the United States. According to the indictment and statements made during Murillo-Bejarano’s guilty plea proceeding, the AUC was a paramilitary organization based in Colombia that was engaged in warfare with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC), Colombia’s main guerilla group. To support its terrorist paramilitary activities and to enrich its leaders, the AUC was involved in narcotics trafficking and was responsible for the importation of multi-ton quantities of cocaine into the United States. The AUC was involved in overseeing the transportation of cocaine by sea — on board speedboats and cargo vessels — from Colombia to the United States, either directly or through third party countries.

Murillo-Bejarano held the title of Inspector General of the AUC but was the de facto leader of the organization and was in charge of its narcotics-trafficking activities, including all of its cocaine transportation and financial operations. Murillo-Bejarano maintained his power in the AUC in part from the proceeds of his drug-trafficking activities.

The cocaine shipped to the United States by the AUC generated millions of dollars in New York and other U.S. cities. At the direction of individuals working under the supervision of Murillo-Bejarano’s organization, these sums were placed in bags or suitcases and exchanged at pre-arranged locations. The purpose of these transfers was to allow the conspiracy to repatriate narcotics proceeds to Colombia while concealing the illicit nature of the funds.

Colombian authorities, under a request for a provisional arrest from the United States, arrested Murillo-Bejarano in Colombia on May 27, 2005. Murillo-Bejarano was extradited to the United States approximately three years later, on May 13, 2008.

Murillo-Bejarano faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison. As part of its extradition request, however, the United States previously provided assurances to the government of Colombia that it will not seek a life sentence for the defendant, but instead will ask for a prison term of years. The plea agreement between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Murillo-Bejarano includes a stipulated sentencing guidelines range of 324 months to 405 months in prison. Murillo-Bejarano is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18, 2008.

“Today, a month after arriving in New York to face United States charges, Don Berna admitted to agreeing to import tons of cocaine into the United States. His plea is an important milestone in the government’s effort to combat narco-terrorism, and we look forward to continuing to work with our Colombian law enforcement partners to dismantle organizations that finance terrorism with the proceeds of drug trafficking,” said U.S. Attorney Garcia.

U.S. Attorney Garcia praised the investigative work of the DEA’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force — which includes agents and officers of the DEA, the New York City Police Department and the New York State Police — and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as the DEA’s Colombia and Mexico Offices, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Colombian National Police and the Departamento Administrativo de Seguridad for their assistance in the case.

“The extradition and guilty plea of Diego Murillo-Bejarano represent a monumental defeat to the leadership of the AUC,” said DEA Acting Administrator Michele M. Leonhart. “It further demonstrates the strength in partnership between the DEA and Colombian law enforcement. American and Colombian communities are safer with the removal of this notorious drug kingpin.”

Murillo-Bejarano’s case is being prosecuted by the International Narcotics Trafficking Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Snyder and Anjan Sahni are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: U.S. Department of Justice

Net News Publisher for World News