Two leaders of a Colombian drug trafficking organization have pleaded guilty in a Florida court to conspiring to smuggle 43,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States, according to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz and Carlos Andres Aldana-Gil headed the operation, which was dismantled with the help of Colombian authorities. The joint effort led to the interception of a shipment in July 2023.
Gonzalez-Ortiz founded the drug trafficking network in 2016, specializing in smuggling cocaine via commercial aircraft departing from Colombia. Aldana-Gil oversaw ground operations, including elaborate schemes to disguise cocaine as fruit shipments. These shipments were transported to Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport, where Aldana-Gil bribed airport security supervisors to divert surveillance cameras away from the external gates. Paid airport employees altered cargo manifests, and luggage cart drivers loaded the cocaine onto planes.
The shipments were flown to Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport on San Andrés Island. From there, they were transported by boat to Nicaragua or Honduras before continuing north to Mexico and ultimately the United States.
Authorities estimate that between 2016 and 2023, the organization smuggled cocaine on at least 27 flights, totaling 43,000 kilograms.
The prosecution of Gonzalez-Ortiz and Aldana-Gil is being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. Both individuals face maximum sentences of life in prison after pleading guilty. Sentencing dates for the two men have not yet been set.
