An extradited commander of Colombian guerrilla group FARC, Juan Jose “Chiguiro” Martinez Vega, was sentenced to 27.5 years in jail by a New York court for drugs and arms trafficking, Venezuelan media reported Tuesday.
Chiguiro was arrested in Venezuela in 2005 and deported to Colombia, which extradited him to the U.S. to face the drug and arms trafficking charges.
Prosecutors had asked the court for a minimum of ten years and a maximum of life as they claimed the FARC rebel was guilty of the export of tons of cocaine to North America.
“Chiguiro” had already been found guilty a week ago when his accomplice Erminso Cuevas Cabrera, alias “Mincho,” received 29 years in jail on similar charges.