By Gangsters Inc. Editors
Two Colombians pleaded guilty late last year to conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine for importation into the United States. The pair were caught up in a DEA sting operation aimed at drug traffickers linked to the terrorist group known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
In 2018, DEA agents began investigating large-scale drug traffickers with ties to the FARC. During a long-term investigation, Mazabel-Soto represented himself as someone authorized to enter into large cocaine production agreements on behalf of the FARC and portrayed Molina-Cutiva as being responsible for FARC drug trafficking logistics in southwestern Colombia.
Cocaine labs
Additionally, they represented that Molina-Cutiva was responsible for all FARC cocaine laboratories in Huila and Caqueta, Colombia as well as transferring cocaine across the border with Ecuador for exportation north by way of the Pacific Ocean.
- READ: Befriending a capo in the Medellin Cartel: How an undercover unit infiltrated the global drug trade
During a series of recorded meetings, Mazabel-Soto and Molina-Cutiva offered to produce large quantities of cocaine for an individual they believed was representing a major Mexican drug cartel. In one particular meeting, they proposed a business agreement wherein the Mexican cartel would invest $2 million in their business and the FARC would construct a cocaine laboratory for the cartel, where they would have exclusive rights to the production.
Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball team
They stated that the first 1,000 kilograms produced would be free and the FARC would then produce an additional 1,000 kilograms of cocaine for the cartel every few weeks, at a cost of $1,600 per kilogram. They agreed to place designer stamps on each kilogram of cocaine, including the logo for the Detroit Tigers Major League Baseball team.
In April 2019, in Bogota, Colombia, Mazabel-Soto provided another individual with a five-kilogram “sample” of cocaine to demonstrate the quality. Mazabel-Soto accepted $11,000 for this sample delivery. DEA lab results show that the cocaine was 96% pure.
Extradition and plea deals
On June 25, 2019, Mazabel-Soto was arrested in Colombia and, on April 16, 2021, was extradited to the United States; Cutiva was arrested in Colombia on August 8, 2019 and, on January 25, 2021, was extradited to the United States. Authorities also arrested Aldemar Soto-Charry in Colombia on August 8, 2019, his extradition is pending.
45-year-old Mauricio Mazabel-Soto entered his plea on December 20, 2022, while 53-year-old Alfredo Molina-Cutiva entered his plea on November 28, 2022. Each defendant faces a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in prison. Molina-Cutiva’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 31, 2023, and Mazabel-Soto’s for April 23, 2023.
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