United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announced that two Colombian nationals, Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to cocaine importation into the United States. Both individuals face a potential life sentence in federal prison, although a sentencing date has not been set.

The plea agreements reveal that from 2016 to 2023, Gonzalez-Ortiz led a drug trafficking organization in Colombia. The group was responsible for transporting cocaine via commercial flights. Cocaine was hidden in fruit boxes at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali and intended for Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport on San Andrés Island. Corrupt police officers assisted in unloading the cocaine, which was then smuggled by boat to Nicaragua or Honduras before reaching Mexico and the United States.

During this period, Gonzalez-Ortiz's organization managed to smuggle cocaine on at least 27 flights from Cali, amounting to over 43,000 kilograms.

From 2021 to 2023, Aldana-Gil handled logistics for the operation from Cali. He transported truckloads of cocaine to the airport and paid off security personnel to avoid detection. Additionally, he coordinated with conspirators who altered cargo manifests and arranged for luggage cart drivers to load drugs onto planes. On July 29, 2023, Colombian National Police intercepted one of these shipments after it landed on San Andrés Island.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative aimed at dismantling major drug traffickers and transnational criminal organizations through multi-agency collaboration.

The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force includes agents from various agencies such as the Coast Guard Investigative Service and Homeland Security Investigations. The prosecution is led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

Support came from several entities including the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and Colombian law enforcement agencies like DIRAN and ETICA. Assistant United States Attorney David J. Pardo is prosecuting this case.