Colombian National Extradited from Colombia to the United States to Face Charges of Murder Conspiracy and Attempted Murder of U.S. Army Soldiers

MIAMI – A five-count indictment, lodged against Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 39, was unsealed today during the defendant’s initial appearance in federal court in Miami. Medina Rodriguez was extradited from Colombia to the United States to face federal charges.  Medina Rodriguez was indicted by a Miami federal grand jury in 2022 for charges that include conspiring to murder members of the United States Uniformed Services and attempted murder of members of the United States Uniformed Services.

According to the indictment, Medina Rodriguez, in concert with other co-conspirators, planned a bombing attack against U.S. Army soldiers present at the Colombian 30^th Army Brigade Base in Cucuta, Colombia.  Medina Rodriguez used his status as a medically discharged Colombian Army Officer to gain access to the base where he conducted surveillance.  As part of the surveillance, Medina Rodriguez took photographs and video of the areas where the U.S. Army soldiers were primarily located.

One of Medina Rodriguez’s co-conspirators instructed Medina Rodriguez to find and purchase a vehicle suitable for conducting a vehicle borne improvised explosive device (“VBIED”) attack at the base.  Medina Rodriguez purchased a white SUV and Medina Rodriguez and his co-conspirators drove the vehicle to Venezuela where it was outfitted with the explosives.

On June 15, 2021, Medina Rodriguez drove the vehicle with the VBIED to the 30^th Army Brigade Base in Cucuta, Colombia, where he parked it in front of the location where U.S. and Colombian military personnel were located.  Medina Rodriguez pulled the detonation pin on the explosive and left the area on foot before fleeing on a motorcycle driven by a co-conspirator.  As a result of the detonated VBIED, three U.S. Army soldiers were injured. 

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI’s Miami Field Office announced the unsealing of the charges.

The FBI investigated the case.  The FBI, including the FBI Legal Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota, was assisted by the Colombian National Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy A. Hummel, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andy Camacho, and the Justice Department’s National Security Division Trial Attorneys David C. Smith and Michael Dittoe are prosecuting the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Bogota worked with Colombian authorities, including the Colombian Attorney General’s Office, to secure the arrest and extradition of Medina Rodriguez.

An indictment contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 22-20054-CR-SCOLA/GOODMAN.

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