Álvaro Córdoba, brother of leftist Colombian senator Piedad Córdoba, pleaded guilty to trafficking drugs to the United States before the Federal Court for the Southern District of New York.
In a hearing held this Tuesday, Córdoba confessed to having participated in sending a shipment of cocaine to New York City between July 2021 and February 2022 and admitted being aware that he was violating the law at that time.
"I participated in a conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine that were going to be sent to the United States and I knew that what I was doing was wrong," he declared.
The shipment in question exceeded five hundred grams, so Álvaro Córdoba could face a minimum of five years in prison, depending on the court's decision, which will issue its sentence on April 11, 2024. The sentence can exceed two decades behind bars.
The US justice system wanted Córdoba for crimes related to illicit drug trafficking, firearms and conspiracy to commit a crime. However, the machine gun possession and destructive device charges were dismissed shortly after his extradition in January 2023.
Senator Piedad Córdoba had stated that the dismissal of these charges demonstrated her brother's innocence and suggested that it was an attempt to link her to drug trafficking. However, Álvaro's recent confession has changed the panorama.
¡Última Hora! El hermano de la senadora Piedad Córdoba, Álvaro Córdoba, se declaró culpable en una corte de Nueva York por los cargos de conspiración para importar y distribuir más de 500 gramos de cocaína que iban a ser enviados a territorio estadounidense la sentencia está… pic.twitter.com/iAbVkPzanL
— DolarToday® (@DolarToday) January 2, 2024
Detention
Álvaro Córdoba was arrested in Medellín on February 3, 2022, by agents from the Criminal Investigation Directorate and Interpol following an order issued by a court for the Southern District of New York.
The authorities accused Córdoba of having met with the dissidents of the terrorist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in various areas of the country to arrange the shipment of drugs to the United States.
Although most of the details of the US case against Álvaro Córdoba are still sealed, court records reveal that the senator's brother would have proposed to a confidential source of the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) the possibility of obtaining protection within Colombia to smuggle up to 3 tons of cocaine per month, destined for New York through Mexico.
