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11 August 2005

U.S. Sentences Arms Dealer for Helping Colombian Terrorists

Colombian receives 25-year prison sentence in illicit arms dealing case

By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- A U.S. district court judge in Tampa, Florida, has sentenced a Colombian arms dealer to 25 years in prison for providing support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), which the State Department has designated as a foreign terrorist organization.

In an August 9 statement, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency said Carlos Gamarra-Murillo, a native of Bucaramanga, Colombia, was sentenced to jail for attempting to purchase over 1,000 machine guns, rifles, grenades, grenade launchers, and pistols on behalf of the Colombian terrorist group.

Gamarra-Murillo had pleaded guilty earlier in 2005 to engaging in the business of brokering and exporting defense articles without a license, and providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Gamarra-Murillo was convicted of traveling to the United States in an attempt to carry out an illegal arms supply scheme.  The negotiated deal specified 15,000 kilograms of cocaine would comprise 60 percent of the payment for the weapons, with the balance to be paid in U.S. currency.  The arms were to be delivered to a clandestine airstrip in South America.

The total estimated value of the weapons to be brokered was nearly $4 million, according to ICE, which is the primary investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security.

ICE said in April 2004, after Gamarra-Murillo was arrested, that the case "further substantiates the link between international narcotics trafficking and South American terrorist organizations," adding: "Our highest priority is combating any form of terrorism that could reach [U.S.] borders."

Gamarra-Murillo had been charged with violations of the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, which bans the transfer of U.S.-origin military equipment into active areas of conflict.  Colombia has been locked in a deadly civil war for over 40 years.

At a joint August 4 media appearance in Crawford, Texas, with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, President Bush said the United States and Colombia are working together to fight drug trafficking and terrorism, and to promote security, democracy and the rule of law throughout the Americas.

Bush said the Colombian government has implemented a comprehensive strategy, known as Plan Colombia, to reduce the illegal drug trade, revitalize Colombia's economy, strengthen its democratic institutions, and improve the security of its people.

The United States has provided "critical assistance for Plan Colombia," Bush said, "and the plan is producing results."

Through its determined efforts against narco-terrorism, Colombia has "emerged as a leader in our hemisphere," Bush said.  He added that Colombia "shares our commitment to advancing economic growth, trade, and democracy in the Americas."

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)