Geovany Andres Rojas, aka “Araña,” a Colombian national and alleged high-level narco-terrorist and prolific cocaine trafficker, was extradited from Colombia to the United States.
Rojas was handed over to U.S. officials this morning under heavy security at a Colombian National Police air base in Bogotá. The sendoff was attended by Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. Rojas arrived at an undisclosed location in San Diego at 4:30 p.m. PST, flanked by DEA and FBI agents.
Photo of Rojas (center) flanked by law enforcement after being extradited from Colombia to the United States. Left to right, excluding uniformed agents: U.S. Department of Justice’s Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Kristopher Jarvis; U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon, Southern District of California; San Diego DEA Special Agent in Charge James Nunnallee; Araña; DEA San Diego Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jacob Galvan; FBI San Diego Assistant Special Agent in Charge Jagdeep Khangura; Acting Special Agent in Charge HSI San Diego Kevin Murphy
On March 7, 2025, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of California returned a two-count superseding indictment charging Rojas, whose alias translates to “Spider,” with International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Narco-Terrorism.
Colombian authorities apprehended Rojas on February 12, 2025, pursuant to an INTERPOL Red Notice based on narcotics-related offenses. The Supreme Court of Colombia unanimously approved Rojas’s extradition in October 2025. Colombian President Gustavo Petro suspended Rojas’ extradition later that year, while Rojas participated in a new round of peace talks between armed groups and the Colombian government. On August 26, 2026, Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella ordered that Rojas’ extradition should proceed.
“Colombia and the Department of Justice are making a clean sweep of narcoterrorists, starting with Araña,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “Before President de la Espriella, armed criminal groups in Colombia roughly doubled in size. Their cocaine fueled the Mexican cartels pumping poison into our communities. The Araña extradition sweeps away a web that starts in the mountains of Putumayo and ends in the brutal, cartel contested plazas of Tijuana.”
“This extradition demonstrates what the United States and Colombia can accomplish when we work together to dismantle the criminal networks that traffic deadly drugs, corrupt institutions, and threaten our communities,” said DEA Administrator Terry Cole. “Geovany Andres Rojas faces narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges for allegedly orchestrating multi-ton cocaine shipments bound for the United States. His extradition shows that borders, criminal influence, and efforts to conceal illegal activity will not prevent DEA and our partners from bringing major transnational traffickers to justice.”
“Rojas’ extradition should send a clear message to cartel leaders: the FBI and our HSTF partners remain relentless in our fight to dismantle drug trafficking organizations that facilitate the flow of deadly drugs into our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Remily of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “FBI San Diego will continue working closely with our domestic and international law enforcement partners to eliminate criminal cartels, hold their leaders accountable, and protect the American people.”
In the years leading up to Rojas’ arrest, he served as the spokesman and leader of Comandos de la Frontera, a paramilitary organization with an estimated 1,000 members operating in southwestern Colombia. Rojas identified himself as a high-level leader of Comandos de la Frontera, posing with weapons and heavily armed fighters in appearances on social media and in interviews with news organizations on behalf of the terrorist group.
In public statements, Rojas described Comandos de la Frontera as part of the Segunda Marquetalia, an organization of former Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) combatants who rearmed and returned to fighting following Colombia’s 2016 peace accord with FARC. Rojas himself was a member of the FARC who signed the 2016 Peace Agreement before rejecting peace and becoming a guerilla leader. The United States Secretary of State designated Segunda Marquetalia a foreign terrorist organization on December 1, 2021.
Screen shots from video released by Comandos de la Frontera in approximately 2022, featuring Rojas (center) seated before Comandos de la Frontera - Segunda Marquetalia banner
The drug trafficking and narco-terrorism charges against Rojas stemmed from a long-term Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) investigation which revealed that Comandos de la Frontera, under Rojas’ leadership, profited from the cultivation and production of cocaine in southwestern Colombia, maintaining control of its territory using weapons and violence. The area is one of Colombia’s top cocaine producing regions, with significant influence over the cocaine supply chain worldwide.
Photograph of Rojas from newspaper interview by Colombian news organization El
Screenshot of video interview with Rojas posted by Colombian news organization El Espectador on March 11, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdYBGrYCeHM
Rojas is expected to make his initial court appearance at 2 p.m. on September 28, 2026, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Steve B. Chu.
The Justice Department’s Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Kristopher Jarvis, and Office of International Affairs Trial Attorney Aaron York, secured the arrest and extradition of Rojas. The U.S. Marshals Service provided significant assistance in ensuring a smooth and safe transfer of custody and transporting Rojas back to the United States.
The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 959, 960, and 963
Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 10 years and up to life in prison
Narco-Terrorism – Title 21, U.S.C., Sections 960a and 841
Maximum penalty: Mandatory minimum 20 years and up to life in prison
This case was investigated and prosecuted by the California Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of the HSTF initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
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