Colombian Drug Cartel Leader Extradited to the U.S.

On Friday the Department of Justice announced that Luis Hernando Gomez-Bustamante, also known as "Rasguno," has been extradited from Colombia to the United States to face charges of cocaine importation, distribution and racketeering. The press release describes Gomez-Bustamante as one of the leaders of the Norte Valle Colombian Drug Cartel.

The drug charges are pending in the Eastern District of New York and involve more than 150 kilograms of cocaine. The racketeering charges are the result of a multi-district indictment pending in Washington, D.C. The investigation in that matter, according to the press release, involved the U.S. Attorneys' Offices in New York, the Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section of the Department of Justice, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

According to the indictments, Gomez-Bustamante was responsible for multi-ton shipments of cocaine from Colombia that eventually ended up in the U.S. The cocaine was shipped along a route from Colombia, to other South American locations, to Mexico and ultimately the U.S. The cartel used South American and Mexican transportation groups that moved the cocaine via trucks, planes, speed boats, fishing vessels, etc.

This was no small enterprise or even a moderate criminal enterprise. The indictments allege that between 1990 and 2007, the Norte Valle Cartel was responsible for more than 1.2 million pounds of cocaine entering the U.S. The value of that quantity of cocaine is more than $10 billion. In the process, the cartel members are alleged to have used violence and brutality, including murder, to get the job done and punish anyone who failed to pay their cocaine bills or was suspected of working for law enforcement. The indictment also alleges that the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, a terrorist paramilitary organization known by the State Department, was used by the cartel for protection of its shipments, laboratories and personnel.