Two Colombian men are set to spend decades in prison after being convicted of conspiring to murder U.S. soldiers. They did not succeed in killing anyone, but the two men hatched a plan to set off a car bomb in a military base located near the border between Colombia and Venezuela, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
A court sentenced Andrés Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 40, and Ciro Alfonso Gutiérrez Ballesteros, 31, to 35 and 30 years in prison for their involvement in the planned but not executed attack in 2021.
Court papers show Ballesteros and Rodriguez were members of what’s called the 33rd front, a militant wing of Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FARC). The men targeted American service members who were serving at Colombia’s 30th Army Brigade base located in Cúcuta, Colombia.
Prosecutors described Rodriguez as a co-conspirator who used his former service in order to get onto the base. Rodriguez had been medically discharged from the Colombian army. Once inside, he took pictures and video of the areas where most U.S. soldiers were stationed.
About 10 days before the planned attack, the two men brought a white SUV to their co-conspirators in the 33rdh Front. Those people loaded up the truck with homemade bombs. Rodriguez then drove the SUV on June 15, 2021, to the base and parked it where American soldiers were known to pass by. His co-conspirator Ballesteros followed along on a motorcycle. Once inside the facility, Rodriguez set off the bomb’s timer and both of them fled on foot.
The bomb went off, injuring three U.S. soldiers and 44 Colombian soldiers, though there were no fatalities.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe, working for the Southern District of Florida, said their “highest priority” is to bring to justice those who target American service members.
Lapointe said the office works with colleagues internationally, including foreign security services, to “conduct complex investigations” to use in U.S.-based criminal prosecutions.
