Ramon Manriquez Castillo, 68, a dual U.S. and Mexican citizen; Edgar Rodriguez Ruano, 29, a Mexican citizen; Fernando Javier Escobar Tito, 48, an Ecuadorian citizen; and Anderson Jair Gamboa Nieto, 30, a Colombian citizen, made their initial appearances in federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Fl. on drug trafficking charges after the Republic of Guinea-Bissau surrendered them to the United States on April 16.
A federal grand jury indictment charges the defendants with conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine through Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Guinea-Bissau using a U.S.-registered aeroplane, with a U.S. citizen onboard, from about November 2023 to September 2024.
It also charges them with distributing cocaine in these countries using an aeroplane with a U.S. citizen onboard.
In September 2024, law enforcement authorities arrested the defendants in Guinea-Bissau and seized 2.6 metric tons of cocaine.
Due to the strong and ongoing collaboration between Guinea-Bissau, the Judicial Police, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the FBI WFO, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the U.S. Embassy to Senegal and Guinea-Bissau, the Guinea-Bissau government surrendered the four alleged drug cartel affiliates to U.S. authorities on April 16.
The defendants made their initial court appearances on Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Patrick Hunt in the Southern District of Florida.
If convicted, they face between 10 years and life in federal prison.
