Geovany Andrés Rojas, known as “Araña” (“The Spider”), was extradited from Colombia to the United States on Friday, according to a Justice Department news release. U.S. agents took custody of Rojas at a Colombian National Police air base in Bogotá, and he arrived later the same day in San Diego, the release said.
DOJ and DEA tout joint move
“Colombia and the Department of Justice are making a clean sweep of narcoterrorists, starting with Araña,” U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon said in the department’s release, adding praise for Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella. Gordon said armed criminal groups in Colombia had roughly doubled in size before de la Espriella, and claimed their cocaine fueled Mexican cartels.
“Today’s 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,” DEA Administrator Terry Cole said. Cole added that Rojas faces narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges for allegedly orchestrating multi-ton cocaine shipments bound for the United States.
Charges and timeline
According to the Justice Department, a federal grand jury indicted Rojas on March 7, 2025, on charges of International Conspiracy to Distribute Cocaine and Narco-Terrorism. Colombian authorities arrested him in February 2025, and Colombia approved his extradition in October 2025, the department said.
Alleged role and groups named
The Justice Department said Rojas was the spokesman and leader of Comandos de la Frontera, described as a paramilitary organization of about 1,000 members with a “stranglehold” in southwestern Colombia, a top cocaine-producing region. The department said Rojas described Comandos de la Frontera as part of Segunda Marquetalia, which was designated a foreign terrorist organization in December 2021.
Policy reversal in Bogotá
Former Colombian President Gustavo Petro wanted Rojas to be part of peace talks with rebel groups and did not extradite him, The Washington Post reported, according to the source material. The Justice Department release and public remarks indicate President Abelardo de la Espriella changed that approach. “You don’t build peace by protecting narco-terrorists like this bandit,” de la Espriella said Friday. He also urged U.S. authorities that Rojas “cannot negotiate deals that will leave his crimes unpunished.”
BluRadio Colombia posted images on Sept. 25, 2026, that it said showed the extradition transfer, noting Interpol handed Rojas to U.S. Marshals and the DEA before a flight out of the country.
