Colombian National Extradited From Panama Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges In The United States

Tampa, Florida – Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, a/k/a Francisco Niño (42, Colombia), has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States. Gomez-Lubo faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. 

According to the plea agreement, beginning in approximately September 2017 and continuing through 2019, Gomez-Lubo was part of a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine from Colombia, through Central America and the Caribbean, directly to the United States, including Texas, California, Hawaii, and Florida. The cocaine distributed by Gomez-Lubo and others displayed identifying symbols and marks. Those marks were found in kilograms of cocaine recovered by law enforcement in New York, Pennsylvania, and Florida.

Gomez-Lubo’s co-defendant, Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros, was also indicted.

Lubo-Barros was arrested in Costa Rica in January 2021, living under an assumed identity. He was extradited to the United States in March 2021 and is currently pending trial in Tampa.

This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.

The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance with the defendant’s extradition. The U.S. Marshals Service also provided critical assistance in Gerardo Gomez-Lubo’s extradition from Panama to the Middle District of Florida.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.