A Colombian national was sentenced yesterday to 14 years in prison for conspiring to send more than 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

According to court documents, Alejandro Parra Bustamante, 45, was a high-level member of the Shottas and Clan de Bustamante, the leading drug trafficking organizations operating out of Buenaventura, Colombia, one the country's main seaports and a primary hub for cocaine being transported out of Colombia to Central America, Mexico, and the United States. Between around March 2019 and March 2021, Parra Bustamante led a conspiracy to sell 500 to 1,000 kilograms of cocaine to U.S. buyers during which approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine samples were sent to Tucson, Arizona.

Parra Bustamante was indicted in May 2021 and extradited to the United States in August 2023. Parra Bustamante pleaded guilty to one count of cocaine trafficking conspiracy on Feb. 6 before a federal judge in the District of Columbia. Jorge Eliecer Florez Alvarez, Parra Bustamante's co-conspirator, was sentenced to 102 months' imprisonment on Oct. 16.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) in Arizona made the announcement.

HSI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Colleen King and Roger Polack of the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section prosecuted the case. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Colombia to secure the arrest and extradition of Parra Bustamante.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Homeland Security Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods.