The seven taxi drivers implicated in the June 2013 murder of DEA agent, James Watson, in Colombia’s capital of Bogota have been offered 25 years in prison if they plead guilty to manslaughter, kidnapping, and conspiracy.
The offer of 25 years was made to the Colombian taxi drivers by the US federal court they are being tried in, according to Vanguardia newspaper.
If the plea deal of 25 years in prison is not accepted, the taxi drivers could face up to 40 years for the alleged crimes.
The seven taxi drivers were extradited in April 2014 to the United States to respond to the murder of DEA agent James Watson who was killed during a robbery attempt.
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Watson was victim of what is called a “millionaire ride” which is when taxi drivers, usually with accomplices, kidnaps a customer and drives around to different ATMs forcing the person to empty their bank accounts.
According to local media, Watson resisted his assailants and suffered knife wounds during the struggle, which resulted in his death.
Watson was a 13 year veteran of the Drug Enforcement Agency and had served in the army. The slain DEA agent had gone on assignment to Afghanistan three times and had previously worked for the US Marshals Service.