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Anayibe Rojas Valderrama, aka “Sonia,” was sentenced to 200 months in prison by
U.S. District Court Judge Robertson. Her two co-defendants, Jose Antonio Celis,
aka “Calvo,” and Juan Diego Giraldo, aka “Flaco,” were sentenced to 175 months
and 200 months in prison respectively.
The three defendants were convicted by a jury of narcotics trafficking on Feb. 20,
2007, following a five-week trial. They had been indicted for conspiring to import
five kilograms or more of cocaine into the United States and conspiring to
manufacture and distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine intending and
knowing that the cocaine would be unlawfully imported into the United States.
Rojas Valderrama was the finance officer of the 14th Front of the FARC. She was
extradited from Colombia to the United States in March 2005 to stand trial on the
U.S. charges, and is the first FARC leader to be convicted in the United States.
“The sentencing of FARC’s Commandante Sonia and her co-defendants shows that
the United States will hold the leaders of this narco-terrorist organization
responsible for their role in trafficking drugs and committing acts of violence on the
streets of this country,” said Assistant Attorney General Fisher. “The prosecution of
these FARC members, the first of its kind in the United States, was made possible
because of the exceptional cooperation of Colombian authorities and the hard work
and efforts of the DEA agents and federal prosecutors who, working together, were
essential to the successful conclusion of this important case.”
A number of FARC members and criminal associates have been charged with
terrorism and drug-related crimes in U.S. indictments. In addition to narcotics
trafficking, the indictments charge the FARC and its members with, among other
crimes, the kidnaping and murder of U.S. citizens.
The case was prosecuted in the District of Columbia by trial attorneys Ron McNeil,
Stephen May, and James Faulkner from the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section
(NDDS) of the Criminal Division. The investigation in this case was led by the
Drug Enforcement Administration, in close cooperation with Colombian law
enforcement. The extradition of these defendants resulted from the cooperative
efforts of the government of Colombia, and the Criminal Division’s Office of
International Affairs and NDDS.
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07-481