“True president”, then “leader”: Bolsonaro’s letter from the United States

Colombian national Leonardo de Jesus Zuluaga Duque, known as "Rey," received a 160-month prison term in the United States. This sentence stemmed from his involvement in a complex international money laundering scheme, in which he was accused alongside five others of amassing hundreds of millions of dollars through drug trafficking proceeds and cocaine importation.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, stated that the defendants had been apprehended due to the commitment of the relevant law enforcement and prosecution agencies.

Zuluaga Duque, a Colombian-born cryptocurrency broker, allegedly served as a supervisor within the network. His role entailed facilitating the laundering of Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar, generated by drug trafficking. He collaborated with Erica Milena Lopez Ortiz to transfer Tether to Maximilien De Hoop Cartier, who then converted it into U.S. dollars using an unlicensed money-transmitting business.

De Hoop Cartier, in turn, utilized various U.S.-based shell companies to transfer the U.S. dollars back to Colombian businesses managed by Felipe Estrada Echeverry and others. Following this, the illicit proceeds were converted into Colombian pesos and distributed among Lopez Ortiz and Zuluaga Duque. Between May and November 2023, Zuluaga Duque, alongside his co-conspirators, laundered approximately US$14.5 million in Tether derived from drug trafficking.

Furthermore, the same period saw Zuluaga Duque, along with De Hoop Cartier, Lopez Ortiz, Estrada Echeverry, and Adrian Fernando Areiza Ceballos, conspiring to import large quantities of cocaine into the United States. In November 2023, sources under law enforcement supervision facilitated the purchase of about nine kilograms of cocaine paste, which was later processed into cocaine and delivered in New York. Zuluaga Duque received a commission for assisting in this transaction.

In February 2024, another confidential source, acting under law enforcement direction, arranged for the purchase of approximately 100 kilograms of cocaine paste from Alexander Areiza Ceballos and Adrian Areiza Ceballos. In anticipation of this deal, the Colombian National Police executed two search warrants, seizing roughly 111 kilograms of cocaine paste from the two individuals.

Beyond the prison sentence, Zuluaga Duque was ordered to pay a fine of US$14,751,846 and forfeit the cryptocurrency tokens held in four addresses he controlled. This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative, a multi-agency effort to combat criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations operating in the United States and abroad.