Colombian nationals Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 40, and Ciro Alfonso Gutierrez Ballesteros, 31, were sentenced today to 35 and 30 years in prison, respectively, for conspiring and attempting to murder U.S. soldiers by detonating a car bomb outside a military base near the Colombia-Venezuela border.
According to court documents, Medina Rodriguez and Gutierrez Ballesteros, in concert with members of the 33rd Front, an extremist faction of Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias (FARC), specifically targeted American troops stationed at the Colombian 30th Army Brigade Base in Cúcuta, Colombia. Co-conspirator Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez used his status as a medically discharged Colombian army officer to gain access to the base, where he conducted photographic and video surveillance of the areas where the U.S. soldiers were primarily located.
Approximately 10 days before the attack, Medina Rodriguez and Gutierrez Ballesteros delivered a white SUV to their co-conspirators in the 33rd Front, who loaded it with an improvised explosive device.
On June 15, 2021, Medina Rodriguez drove the bomb-laden SUV to the 30th Army Brigade Base, eventually parking it in front of the location where U.S. and Colombian military personnel worked. Gutierrez Ballesteros, riding a motorcycle, escorted Medina Rodriguez. Once inside, Medina Rodriguez activated the bomb’s timer device and left the area on foot before fleeing on the motorcycle driven by Gutierrez Ballesteros. Three U.S. Army soldiers and 44 Colombian military personnel were injured in the blast.
Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI National Security Branch made the announcement.
The FBI with assistance from its Legal Attaché in Bogotá; Fiscalía General de la Nación de Colombia; and National Police investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Browne and Abbie Waxman for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney David C. Smith for the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted this case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy A. Hummel and Andy R. Camacho for the Southern District of Florida also contributed significantly to both investigation and prosecution efforts.
The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs along with Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of Judicial Attaché at U.S Embassy in Bogotá collaborated with Colombian authorities to secure arresting as well as extraditing both Gutierrez Ballesteros & Medina Rodriguez.