Eight Held in Colombia for US Extradition; One Accused of Moving $42 Million in Crypto
Key Takeaways
- •Colombia's Attorney General's Office arrested eight people wanted for US extradition on drug trafficking and money laundering charges during operations in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cajicá, and Maicao.
- •Nassim Orfale Vásquez is sought by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York for allegedly transferring about $42 million in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions since 2018.
- •Seven other suspects, allegedly led by Guillermo Carpio Cárdenas, known as "Gallo," are wanted by the US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico on charges including international drug trafficking, money laundering, and criminal conspiracy.
- •US prosecutors say the Puerto Rico-linked group laundered drug-trade proceeds through tokens, third transfers, and split deposits into accounts held by individuals and companies in Bogotá and Barranquilla.
- •The arrests, carried out by CTI agents with support from Colombia's army and navy, the DEA, and IRS-CI, reflect growing joint US-Colombia scrutiny of cryptocurrency-linked drug money in the region.
Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office said on Wednesday that it had arrested eight people wanted for extradition to the United States on drug trafficking and money laundering charges. One of the suspects is accused of moving roughly $42 million in suspicious cryptocurrency transactions since 2018. The operation is the latest sign that crypto-linked drug money has become a shared enforcement priority for authorities in Colombia and the United States.
Acting at the request of US courts, officers carried out two separate operations in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cajicá in Cundinamarca and Maicao in La Guajira.
New York court seeks suspect over transfers dating back to 2018
CTI agents captured Nassim Orfale Vásquez during a search of a property in Barranquilla. The US District Court for the Southern District of New York is seeking him for alleged involvement in a network that laundered drug money through cryptocurrency.
According to the Office of the Attorney General, Orfale is accused of transferring about $42 million in suspicious crypto transactions since 2018. The case was built by IRS-CI, the division of the US Internal Revenue Service that investigates tax, financial and money-laundering crimes — placing the allegations squarely within that financial-crime remit.
US authorities are examining whether those transfers formed part of a broader operation based on Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Investigators also want to establish whether the transactions concealed the source, destination or beneficiary of drug money.
The Fiscalía announced the arrests in a post on X:
Ocho personas fueron capturadas con fines de extradición en dos acciones de la Fiscalía, en articulación con autoridades de Estados Unidos. Los procedimientos se realizaron en Bogá, Barranquilla, Cajicá (Cundinamarca) y Maicao (La Guajira), en desarrollo de requerimientos… pic.twitter.com/K3IKXdFDyu
— Fiscalía Colombia (@FiscaliaCol) October 21, 2026
Alleged ringleader “Gallo” heads group wanted in Puerto Rico
The other seven suspects are wanted by the US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The charges against them include international drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal conspiracy.
Investigators identified the alleged ringleader as Guillermo Carpio Cárdenas, also known as “Gallo” or “Guillo.” Also detained were Alex Alberto Castillo Gómez, Jhon Jairo Torres Peláez, Nizar Hachem Sawan, Andrés Mauricio Guarnizo Vaca, Danilo Andrés Hernández Junco and Juan Daniel Arenas Uribe, alias “Juan Arenas.”
US prosecutors said the group laundered and moved drug-trade proceeds through tokens, third-party transfers and split deposits. The funds went into accounts held by individuals and companies, partly in Bogotá and partly in Barranquilla.
The operation was led by a prosecutor from the Fiscalía’s Specialized Directorate against Criminal Organizations. CTI agents carried out the arrests with the assistance of Colombia’s army and navy. CTI director José Luis Ramírez Hinestroza said the action was supported by the US Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS-CI — a combination that targets both the trafficking itself and the financial flows behind it.
Wider enforcement backdrop
The operation follows earlier US action against Colombian crypto-related crime. Colombian national Leonardo de Jesús Zuluaga Duque, alias “Rey,” was previously sentenced to 160 months in US federal prison for running a stablecoin money laundering network. Colombia’s tax authority, the DIAN, has also been pushing for stricter reporting from crypto service providers. Separately, Chile previously issued an arrest warrant for one of the founders of Plusspay, who is accused of laundering money for Tren de Aragua. Taken together, the cases point to growing scrutiny — on both the criminal and regulatory sides — of how digital assets are used to move illicit proceeds in the region.
Under Colombian law and the country’s current judicial commitments to the United States, all eight suspects now face extradition proceedings. The Attorney General’s Office said it will respect due process and that judicial and administrative reviews will take place before any final decision to hand them over.
