This is how Piedad Córdoba's brother fell: DEA agent posed as a Mexican narco

Last week it became known that the United States Government had sent the formal request to Colombia for the extradition of Álvaro Fredy Córdoba, brother of Piedad Córdoba, senator elected by the Historical Pact. Cordoba is required because it has alleged links with drug trafficking cartels. Details of the way in which the legal process against men took place recently became known. A DEA agent, it became known, pretended to be a Mexican drug dealer in operation in which the alleged criminal fell.

Blu Radio, a media outlet that provided more details of the operation, said that the authorities of the US country set a trap for Córdoba to bring it down. Matthew S. Passmore, a specialized agent of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), was responsible for collecting enough evidence to prove the guilt of Cordoba and its allies, Alberto Jaramillo, alias 'Alonso Héctor', and Libya Amanda Palacio Mena.

The researcher met several times with Palacio Mena. In their conversations, he posed as a Mexican drug trafficker who belonged to a large-scale drug trafficking organization and who was looking to develop contacts in Colombia. As it became known, thanks to this intelligence action, Córdoba and his companions offered alleged guarantees for the delivery of weapons. Likewise, they claimed to have the support of FARC dissidents in Medellín.

In 2021, around February, Palacio Mena presented the undercover agent with a chemist who was responsible for supervising cocaine processing laboratories in Colombia, which would benefit the alleged Mexican drug dealer in expanding its market. Around July of that month, a videoconference was held in which it was evident how Córdoba and Palacio said they wanted help to expand their work in Colombia.

In August, Córdoba Ruíz, Palacio Mena and the agent were in a meeting, which was recorded, in which the joy of a possible agreement was expressed, as they would begin to move several kilos of cocaine to Mexico. Córdoba said that with the help of partners they could mobilize 3,000 kilograms of narcotics per month. The drug route was clear: Colombia-Mexico-United States (New York). In September, Jaramillo said its sources of supply were able to produce up to 8,000 kilograms of cocaine every four months. There was talk of the mobilization of up to $1,000,000 dollars in profits.

In December, the business they were talking about was closed. There was the delivery, in Medellín, of a bag of $15,000, money that Córdoba Ruíz and Palacio Mena obtained after helping to transfer five kilograms of cocaine.

In February of this year they were captured. Colombian authorities named these actions as Operation Coral. The Southern District Court of New York accuses them of bringing in more than five kilos of cocaine and carrying weapons illegally. The three unionies could also face terrorism charges if it is proved that the transport of narcotics benefits Mexican cartels and FARC dissidents, led by Miguel Botache Santillana, alias Gentil Duarte.

Córdoba is locked in a cell in the High Security B ward of La Picota prison.

Piedad Córdoba, in the face of the capture of her brother, said: “Enough political persecution against me and my family. Neither my brother Álvaro Córdoba nor I have any relation to drug trafficking or armed groups. I challenge that the evidence that supports this new judicial assembly be shown. In the Truth Commission I have already denounced the successive montages that have not yet been clarified against me. This new aggression for my return to politics will not disappoint me as the previous ones have not done so. Why, if my brother was captured since yesterday, was he kept in detention and isolated to this day? Why was he kept secret about his retention? Why are your captors asking you about me? What evidence supports this intervention in the elections?”

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