Colombia Arrests Eight Over Crypto Laundering of Drug Money for US Cases
Colombia's Attorney General says eight people were captured for extradition to the US in two actions targeting alleged crypto laundering of drug cartel money, including a group charged in Puerto Rico and a suspect indicted in New York over $42 million in transactions.
Eight people wanted in the United States on suspicion of laundering drug cartel proceeds through cryptocurrency have been captured in Colombia for extradition, the country's Office of the Attorney General said. The Fiscalía announced the arrests in a post on X dated October 21, 2026.
"Ocho personas fueron capturadas con fines de extradición en dos acciones de la Fiscalía, en articulación con autoridades de Estados Unidos."
Fiscalía Colombia (@FiscaliaCol)
The operations took place in Bogotá, Barranquilla, Cajicá (Cundinamarca) and Maicao (La Guajira), and involved CTI Police officials and the national army.
In one action, police captured Guillermo Carpio Cárdenas, known as Gallo and described as head of the first group, along with six others: Alex Alberto Castillo Gómez, Jhon Jairo Torres Peláez, Nizar Hachem Sawan, Andrés Mauricio Guarnizo Vaca, Danilo Andrés Hernández Junco and Juan Daniel Arenas Uribe. The US District Court for the District of Puerto Rico alleges the group used a deposit network, cryptocurrency tokens and smurfing, which means splitting money into many small transactions to avoid detection by financial intelligence units.
The second action targeted Nassim Orfale Vasquez, arrested in Barranquilla. He is indicted in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York for taking part in a structure that used crypto transactions to launder drug funds. His case is separate from the Puerto Rico group.
According to the IRS, Vasquez processed more than $42 million in suspicious crypto transactions since 2018. Authorities are still investigating whether a larger organization operates in a similar way from the Colombian coast.
All eight face extradition procedures under Colombian law, which officials said will respect due process. The allegations come from US court filings and indictments, and none of the suspects has been convicted.
Context
The sources say the arrests follow the earlier dismantling of a stablecoin laundering network led by Leonardo de Jesus Zuluaga Duque, known as Rey, who was sentenced to 160 months in US federal prison. One source describes that scheme as moving criminal proceeds through Tether and US shell companies.
President Abelardo de La Espriella has made extraditions to the US a priority. He has been criticized for a hard-line approach toward drug criminals, though the sources say he ranks as the third most popular leader in Latin America.
Other governments are also stepping up enforcement, as in China's escalated crackdown on crypto money laundering.
