Colombian national extradited to face charges of kidnapping U.S. soldiers in Miami

MIAMI, Florida — A Colombian national was extradited to the United States on Friday to face charges related to kidnapping and assaulting two members of the U.S. military who were on temporary duty in Bogotá, Colombia.

Kenny Julieth Uribe Chiran, 35, of Bogotá, made her initial court appearance today in Miami, Florida, before Magistrate Judge Eduardo Sanchez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida. According to court documents, Uribe Chiran and her co-conspirators targeted, incapacitated, and kidnapped two U.S. soldiers in Bogotá in order to rob them of their valuables.

Uribe Chiran is charged with kidnapping an internationally protected person, conspiracy to kidnap an internationally protected person, assaulting an internationally protected person, and conspiracy to assault an internationally protected person. She is the last of the three co-defendants to be extradited to the United States. Arango Castellanos was extradited in May 2023 from Colombia to the United States, pleaded guilty in January to the charges in the indictment, and was sentenced in May to 48 years and nine months in prison. Silva Ochoa was extradited in April from Chile to the United States and is currently scheduled for trial in November.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case, and the U.S. Marshals Service escorted Uribe Chiran from Colombia to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Miami Field Office, the Office of the Legal Attaché Santiago, and the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Judicial Attaché Office in Bogotá provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Uribe Chiran. The United States also thanks Colombian law enforcement authorities for their valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bertila Fernandez for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Clayton O’Connor and Elizabeth Nielsen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt 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 23-cr-20474.