Colombian nationals sentenced to prison for plot to murder American soldiers
Two Colombian nationals will serve lengthy prison sentences for conspiring and attempting to murder U.S. soldiers by detonating a car bomb outside a military base near the Colombia-Venezuela border, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Colombian nationals Andrés Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 40, and Ciro Alfonso Gutiérrez Ballesteros, 31, were sentenced to 35 and 30 years in prison, respectively, for their involvement in the 2021 attempted attack.
According to court documents, Rodriguez and Ballesteros and members of the 33rd Front, an extremist faction of Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FARC), specifically targeted American troops stationed at the Colombian 30th Army Brigade Base in Cúcuta, Colombia.
Officials said Rodriguez, a co-conspirator, used his status as a medically discharged Colombian army officer to gain access to the base, where he conducted photographic and video surveillance of the areas where the U.S. soldiers were primarily located.
COLOMBIA CAR BOMB AT MILITARY BASE INJURES AT LEAST 36
Soldiers listen to the news on a mobile phone near the military base where a car bomb exploded in Cúcuta, Colombia, June 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Ferley Ospina)
Approximately 10 days before the attack, officials said, Rodriguez and Ballesteros delivered a white SUV to their co-conspirators in the 33rd Front, who loaded it with an improvised explosive device.
On June 15, 2021, authorities said, Rodriguez drove the SUV carrying the bomb up to the 30th Army Brigade Base, eventually parking it in front of the location where U.S. and Colombian military personnel worked.
Ballesteros escorted Rodriguez by motorcycle, and once they were inside, Rodriguez activated the bomb’s timer device and left the area on foot before fleeing with Ballesteros.
According to court documents, Rodriguez and Ballesteros and members of the 33rd Front targeted American troops stationed at the Colombian 30th Army Brigade Base in Cúcuta, Colombia. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
“Our most urgent mission and highest priority is to hold those accountable who target Americans, to include the brave men and women who serve as members of our uniformed services domestically and around the world,” U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida said.
“As seen by the prison sentences imposed upon defendants Medina Rodriguez and Gutiérrez Ballesteros today, individuals who threaten the safety and security of the United States and our fellow Americans will face the full force of our nation’s criminal justice system.”
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Three U.S. Army soldiers and 44 Colombian military personnel were injured in the blast.
“Crime doesn’t stop at our borders, and neither does the FBI’s commitment to investigate criminal acts against our military overseas,” Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI’s Miami Field Office said in a statement.
“We work closely with our international partners and security services around the globe to conduct complex investigations and acquire evidence from abroad for criminal prosecutions in the United States.”
The U.S. Army did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
