EXTRADITION: COLOMBIA: FARC MEMBERS JULIO ENRIQUE

UNCLAS STATE 100682 SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL CJAN CVIS CO SUBJECT: EXTRADITION: COLOMBIA: FARC MEMBERS JULIO ENRIQUE LEMOS-MORENO,AND LUIS FERNANDO-MORA PESTANA (CO:DOB:11/1/1969 AND 4/19/1977) ¶1. (U) SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED. THIS CABLE CONTAINS SENSITIVE LAW ENFORCEMENT INFORMATION. PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. THIS INFORMATION SHOULD BE RELEASED TO THE HOST GOVERNMENT IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW. THIS IS AN ACTION CABLE. ¶2. (SBU) At the request of the United States Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs (DOJ),Embassy is asked to present a diplomatic note along the lines of the text in paragraph 3 below. Per DOJ, Julio Enrique Lemos-Moreno, aka Virgilio Antonio Vida Mora, aka Silver ("Lemos-Moreno") and Luis Fernando Mora-Pestana, aka Virgilio Antonio Vidal Mora, aka Silver ("Mora-Pestana") are known to be located in Colombia, at a location known to law enforcement authorities there. Please contact in-country Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") Special Agent Nestor Laserna, Bogota at 301-985-9343, or in-country Federal Bureau of Investigations ("FBI") Special Agent Roberto Falero, Bogota at 011-571-315-2124, for more information regarding the location of the fugitives. The case is being prosecuted for the United States in the Southern District of New York by Assistant United States Attorneys Jeffrey Brown, who can be contacted at 212-637-1110, and Rebecca Ricigliano, who can be contacted at 212-637-2486. Magdalena A. Boynton, DOJ Trial Attorney, Office of International Affairs, is handling matters related to the provisional arrest and extradition of the fugitives. She can be contacted at 202-514-0032. DOJ advises the Department (L/LEI) that draft affidavits from prosecutor and agent concerning this request have been received. ¶3. (SBU) Begin text: (Complimentary opening) and has the honor to request the provisional arrest and detention for extradition purposes of Colombian nationals Julio Enrique Lemos-Moreno and Luis Fernando-Mora Pestana, in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Colombia of 1991, as amended by the Extradition Reform Act, which entered into force on December 17, 1997; the applicable procedural criminal legislation regarding extradition; relevant treaties to which both Colombia and the United States are party; and applicable principles of international law. The Embassy also requests the seizure of all articles, property, funds and/or proceeds in the possession of the fugitives at the time of arrest, which may serve as evidence of the offenses charged, so they may be surrendered with the fugitives upon their extradition to the United States. The Embassy considers this request to be urgent. The Embassy has the honor to inform the Ministry that a formal extradition request with supporting documents will be submitted within sixty days of the provisional arrest of the fugitives for extradition purposes in accordance with the applicable procedural criminal legislation regarding extradition Article 530 of the 2000 Colombian Code of Criminal Procedure. Julio Enrique Lemos-Moreno and Luis Fernando-Mora Pestana (hereinafter "defendants"),are wanted to stand trial in two separate criminal cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. In criminal case number 08-CR-1290, an indictment filed on December 18, 2008, the defendants are charged with ONE count of conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, in violation of 21 USC Section 2339B. In criminal number S6-09-CR-109, a superseding indictment filed on May 12, 2009, the defendants are charged in Count One with conspiracy to commit hostage taking, in violation of 18 USC Section 1203, and in Count Two with hostage taking, and aiding and abetting that offense, in violation of 18 USC Sections 1203 and 2. On December 18, 2008, the above court issued arrest warrants for the defendants based upon the indictment in criminal number 08-CR-1290. On May 12, 2009, the same court issued arrest warrants for the defendants based upon the superseding indictment in criminal number S6-09-CR-109. The arrest warrants in both cases remain valid and executable. Facts supporting indictment in case number 08 Cr. 1290 (Providing Material Support): The charges against the defendants stem from an investigation of the 57th Front of the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-Ejercito del Pueblo (the "FARC") involving judicially authorized wire intercepts by the Panamanian, Colombian, and U.S. governments. The FARC 57th Front operates in the area of the Colombia-Panama border, in the Panamanian province of Darien and the Colombian department of El Choco. Defendant Mora-Pestana is the Deputy Commander of the FARC's 57th Front. The investigation targeted the 57th Front's use of Panama-based maritime smugglers to provide the 57th Front with material support in the form of shipments of weapons, explosives, food, communication equipment, and other supplies. The investigation revealed that the FARC's 57th Front supports its terrorist activities, and those of the FARC, through, among other means, the following: On February 22, 2008, off the coast of Panama, five 57th Front guerrillas ("CC-1 through CC-5"),who were stranded on a boat, forcibly boarded a Panamanian police patrol boat that had been dispatched to assist them. The FARC guerrillas held the Panamanian police officers at gunpoint, and subsequently engaged them in a shootout, shooting ONE police officer in the face. The guerillas were eventually arrested by Panamanian police in possession of: explosives and detonators; four fully loaded AK-47 automatic weapons; ONE Galil rifle; machetes; approximately 708 live rounds of ammunition for the AK-47 and approximately 213 rounds for the Galil rifle; nine empty AK-47 magazines and five empty Galil magazines; six military backpacks containing personal items such as clothing and toiletries; communication equipment, including ONE portable radio, ONE cell phone with SIM card, approximately seven SIM card holders with codes, and ONE SIM card; FARC uniforms, including rubber military boots, arm bands, berets, and eleven camouflage uniforms. Subsequent ion scans of the 57th Front's boat returned a positive result for the presence of cocaine. These materials were to be used by the FARC's 57th Front, and possibly, other FARC units, to support its terrorist activities in Colombia, Panama, and elsewhere. On February 23, 2008, during a judicially authorized U.S. wire intercept, Mora-Pestana and ONE of his associates, Juanito Cordoba- Bermudez, discussed the apprehension and possible injury or death of the captured 57th Front guerrillas referenced above. In a subsequent conversation that day, the two men discussed the firefight and arrests of the guerrillas, and the seizure of the equipment in their possession. On February 24, 2008, Mora-Pestana and Cordoba-Bermudez discussed the events leading to the arrests of the captured guerrillas, and the fact that Cordoba Bermudez was attempting to hire an attorney for them. On February 27, 2008, a communique was issued under the name of an element of the FARC, warning the government of Panama that it had put itself in "very dangerous position" by "kidnap(ing) 6 members of our army ... a few days ago;" that "Front 57 FARC-EP supports in El Choco over six thousand men who have been trained and armed accordingly;" and threatening that if the Panamanian government did not "free our kidnaped comrades ... in perfect health," the 57th Front had "instructions to take all the necessary hostages from the (Panamanian) National Police Force, to take (Panamanian) public officials, or (Panamanian) local politicians in order to force this into an exchange (of prisoners)" and "authorization to use full force, any equipment and all necessary actions." On March 1, 2008, Mora-Pestana and Cordoba-Bermudez were heard during a wire intercept discussing the impact of the February 27, 2008, communique on the Panamanian legal proceedings against the captured guerrillas. Between March 8 and March 12, 2008, a series of calls was intercepted between Mora-Pestana, other identified FARC 57th Front guerrillas, and an individual later arrested by the Nicaraguan authorities driving a truck containing ten rifles in a secret compartment. In the calls, Mora-Pestana inquired, in coded conversation, when the weapons would be delivered to the Front. On March 27, 2008, after the rifles were seized at the Nicaraguan border, Mora-Pestana discussed the seizure with an identified logistical support associate of the 57th Front, who explained that the rifles had been seized and that the arrested individual would be released from jail shortly. As set forth more fully below, to support the 57th Front's activities, Mora-Pestana directed the kidnapping for ransom of an American citizen in Panama in April 2008. Information from a confidential source has revealed that Mora-Pestana provided 10,000 dollars to assist in the kidnapping, and directed other 57th Front guerrillas in conducting ransom negotiations. Facts supporting superseding indictment in case number S6 09 Cr. 109 (Hostage taking): The investigation also has revealed that on or about April 4, 2008, in the vicinity of Costa del Este, Panama, Roque Luis Orovio LobOn and other co-conspirators, including several corrupt Panamanian police officers, kidnapped Cecilio Juan Padron for ransom on behalf of the FARC's 57th Front, of which defendant Luis Fernando Mora-Pestana is the second in command. Padron is a United States citizen and businessman, who was living in Panama at the time. The FARC's 57th Front operates around the Colombia-Panama border, in the Panamanian province of Darien and the Colombian Department of El Choco. It supports its terrorist activities and those of the FARC through, among other means, hostage taking and narcotics trafficking. On April 4, 2008, in the vicinity of Costa del Este, Panama, co-conspirators, with the assistance of corrupt Panamanian police officers, kidnapped for ransom Cecilio Juan Padron. During the course of the kidnapping, a satellite telephone used by Mora-Pestana was used in furtherance of the kidnapping. The satellite telephone was the subject of a U.S. judicially authorized wire intercept. Among the intercepted calls from Mora-Pestana's phone was a call made from Mora-Pestana's satellite telephone on April 11, 2008, to contact Padron's family in Panama. During the call, an unidentified male spoke with Padron's ex-wife in Panama and requested that she contact someone at Padron's bank in Panama, and that she get a personal number for ONE of the bankers so Padron could call the bank. Several calls were intercepted from Mora-Pestana's phone on April 30, 2008, involving another unidentified male. During these calls, the unidentified co-conspirator contacted the private banking division of a bank in Panama City. During the calls, the individual asked to speak with ONE of Padron's private bankers, and identified himself as a "friend of Cecilio Padron." A review of U.S. judicially authorized wire intercepts revealed that defendant Lemos-Moreno was planning the kidnapping of Padron in the week of March 2008. On March 28, 2008, Lemos-Moreno was heard speaking to an individual by the name of "Carlitos." During the call, Carlitos described to Lemos-Moreno, in coded terms, the planning of the kidnapping, informing Lemos-Moreno that they would have the "product" on Thursday (referring to April 3rd),and that it would be "delivered" the next day, April 4, 2008. On April 3, 2008, the two men spoke again, and Carlitos informed Lemos-Moreno, again in coded terms, that the kidnapping had been postponed from April 3rd to April 4th because Padron had not been alone on April 3rd, and as a result, the kidnappers had not had the opportunity to seize him. In the intercepted call, Carlitos confirmed that he would be providing Lemos-Moreno with "good merchandise," a reference to Padron. Lemos-Moreno was also heard discussing the kidnapping with Carlitos after it occurred. In a series of calls placed on April 7th and 8th, the two men discussed Padron, including his various affiliations and attributes. The two men also discussed the arrest of a corrupt Panamanian police officer who had assisted with the kidnapping, and the need to hire an attorney for the Panamanian officer in order to keep him from cooperating with authorities. Geo-location information for the calls made on April 11, 2008, indicate that on that date the satellite telephones belonging to defendants Mora-Pestana and Lemos-Moreno were in the same vicinity, approximately 10 miles south of Jacque, Panama, at the time of the calls. A co-conspirator of Mora-Pestana's revealed that prior to the kidnapping, in approximately February 2008, co-defendant Roque Orovio Lobon requested that the co-conspirator request funding from Mora-Pestana to commit the kidnapping. The co-conspirator did so, and received $10,000 dollars from Mora-Pestana to finance the kidnapping. Following the kidnapping, the same co-conspirator stayed in contact with Mora-Pestana by both telephone and in-person meetings. During ONE of the meetings, Mora-Pestana informed the co-conspirator that Orovio Lobon would receive payment for the kidnapping when Mora-Pestana and the FARC received the ransom payment for Padron. The ransom payment was later paid in Panama, and Padron was released in Panama. The provisional arrest and extradition of fugitives are authorized in accordance with Article 35 of the Constitution of Colombia of 1991, as amended by the extradition reform act, which entered into force on December 17, 1997, the applicable procedural criminal legislation regarding extradition, and applicable principles of international law. Seizure and surrender of articles are covered by the applicable procedural criminal legislation regarding extradition. All of the actions taken by the defendants in this case took place subsequent to December 17, 1997. The Embassy wishes to inform the Ministry that Luis Fernando Mora-Pestana is a citizen of Colombia, born on November 1, ¶1969. He holds Colombian cedula number 12.002.392. Julio Enrique Lemos-Moreno is a citizen of Colombia, born on April 19, 1977. He holds Colombian cedula number 71.985.826. (Complimentary closing) End text. ¶4. (U) Please send Department a copy of the note for L/LEI, Room 5419, and cable effective date of fugitive's arrest pursuant to U.S. request. Please report developments, captioning response cables for L/LEI-V. Prugh and G.Harris and DOJ/OIA-M. Boynton. Embassy's assistance is greatly appreciated. CLINTON