Four foreign nationals convicted of trafficking 2.63 metric tons of cocaine in Guinea-Bissau have been transferred to the United States to face additional charges, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Friday. The individuals—Ramon Manriquez Castillo (dual U.S.-Mexican citizen), Edgar Rodriguez Ruano (Mexico), Fernando Javier Escobar Tito (Ecuador), and Anderson Jair Gamboa Nieto (Colombia)—were sentenced to 17 years in prison in Guinea-Bissau in January following a record bust known as “Operation Landing.”
The men were charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida with conspiring to distribute large quantities of cocaine through Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Guinea-Bissau between November 2023 and September 2024. They appeared in court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Thursday, facing additional charges related to the use of a U.S.-registered aircraft with an American citizen on board.
The transfer was made under a mutual agreement between the U.S. and Guinea-Bissau, as confirmed by Guinea-Bissau’s President Umaro Cissoko Embalo.
This operation underscores the ongoing efforts to combat international drug trafficking and the strategic role of West African nations as transit points for narcotics moving from South America to Europe. The cooperation between Guinea-Bissau and international law enforcement agencies highlights the global commitment to addressing this issue.
For more details, refer to the Reuters report: (Reuters)
