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Press Release

Final Defendants Sentenced In Colombia/Texas Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Texas

Department of Justice
Office of Public Affairs

      SHERMAN, Texas –  Four members of a Colombian drug trafficking organization have been sentenced to prison for federal violations after being convicted in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

Jaime Gonzalo Castiblanco Cabalcante, 58, of Bogota, Colombia, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 19, 2012 of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States for distribution and manufacturing cocaine for distribution into the United States and was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for each charge to be served concurrently.  The defendant was sentenced on Feb. 18, 2014 by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

Julio Hernando Moya Buitrago, 49, of Bogota, Colombia, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 19, 2012 of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States for distribution and manufacturing cocaine for distribution into the United States and was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison for each charge to be served concurrently.  The defendant was sentenced on Feb. 18, 2014 by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

Oscar Orlando Barrera Pineda, 37, of Bogota, Colombia, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 19, 2012 of manufacturing cocaine for distribution into the United States and was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison on Feb. 18, 2014 by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

Roberth William Villega Rojas, 40, of Florencia, Caqueta, Colombia, was found guilty by a jury on Oct. 19, 2012 of conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States for distribution and manufacturing cocaine for distribution into the United States and was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison for each charge to be served concurrently.  The defendant was sentenced on Sep. 9, 2013 by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

The defendants were indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 15, 2009, along with 21 others charged with drug trafficking crimes, including conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and manufacturing and distribution of cocaine to be imported into the United States.  According to the indictment, the defendants are members of a drug trafficking organization responsible for sending cocaine from Colombia to the United States using Central America and Mexico as a transshipment point. 

                This case is the result of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) joint investigation.  The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. 

This case was investigated by the Direccion de Investigacion Criminal e Interpol (DIJIN) of the Colombian National Police (CNP), Fiscalia General de la Nacion (Office of the Attorney General of Colombia), Cuerpo Tecnico de Investigacion (CTI), Fuerza Aerea Colombiana (Colombian Air Force), U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Panama Country Office, DEA Houston Field Division, DEA Bogota, Colombia, DEA Dallas Field Division, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Honduran National Police and the U.S. Coast Guard.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather Rattan, Jay Combs, and Camelia Lopez. 

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Updated March 12, 2015