Colombia arrests 8 for US extradition, one tied to $42M in crypto

Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office said on Wednesday it arrested eight people wanted for extradition to the United States on drug trafficking and money laundering charges.

One of the suspects allegedly moved some $42 million in suspicious crypto transactions since 2018.

New York court wants Nassim Orfale over transfers dating to 2018

At the request of US courts, the officers carried out two distinct operations in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cajicá in Cundinamarca and Maicao in La Guajira.

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 wants him for alleged involvement in a network laundering drug money through cryptocurrency.

The Office of the Attorney General said 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 looks into tax, financial and money-laundering crimes.

U.S. authorities are investigating if those transfers were part of a broader operation based out of Colombia’s Caribbean coast. Investigators also want to know if the transactions cloaked the source, destination or beneficiary of drug money.

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 Bogotá, 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 the seven wanted in Puerto Rico

The other seven are wanted by the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico. The charges include international drug trafficking, money laundering and criminal conspiracy.

The alleged ringleader, investigators said, is Guillermo Carpio Cárdenas aka “Gallo” or “Guillo.” 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” were also detained.

The group laundered and moved the proceeds of the drug trade through tokens, third-party transfers and split deposits, US prosecutors said. Those deposits went into accounts held by persons and companies, partly in Bogotá and partly in Barranquilla.

This first operation was steered by a prosecutor of the Fiscalía’s Specialized Directorate against Criminal Organizations.

CTI agents made the arrests with the assistance of Colombia’s army and navy. The action was supported by the US Drug Enforcement Administration and IRS-CI, CTI director José Luis Ramírez Hinestroza said.

Colombian national Leonardo de Jesús Zuluaga Duque, aka “Rey,” was earlier 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.

Chile had previously issued an arrest warrant for one of Plusspay’s founders, who is accused of laundering money for Tren de Aragua.

Under Colombian law and its current judicial commitments to the United States, all eight Colombian 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 turn them over.