Interpol officers escorted last Friday, July 31, six powerful Colombian drug lords wanted by authorities in the United States to a charter plane, where U.S. Marshals escorted them to that country to face charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.
Although the list of extraditable individuals includes a person identified as alias El Sobri, responsible for receiving and managing large sums of money from Mexican cartels, EL TIEMPO investigated and established that he would be the head of a mega money laundering operation using cryptocurrencies for organizations trafficking fentanyl in the United States.
Melgar and ‘tokens’
This is Nilson Sneyder Vásquez Duarte, alias El Sobri or Sobrino, 35 years old and originally from Bogotá, who was arrested in the municipality of Melgar (Tolima) in May 2025 in a joint operation between the Prosecutor’s Office, the Cundinamarca Military Gaula, and military intelligence of the National Army.
EL TIEMPO obtained exclusive access to the case file against ‘El Sobri’ in the Southern District Court of Florida (United States), from November 2024, which includes statements from Nalina Sombuntham, prosecutor of that country, and Tary Guariglia, special agent of the Treasury Department, about the modus operandi of ‘El Sobri’s network in collaboration with Mexican cartels.
“The cartels were responsible for importing large quantities of heroin, fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine into the United States. The cartels distributed these illegal drugs throughout the United States, including Alabama, Connecticut, Louisiana, Georgia, Illinois, New York, and North Carolina,” the file against ‘El Sobri’ reads.
They add: “The accused Duarte and the accused (…) organized for messengers to collect cash proceeds from illegal drug sales, deliver them to intermediaries in the black market for cryptocurrencies to buy cryptocurrencies with cash in the United States and sell the cryptocurrencies for cash in Mexico and other locations.”
In fact, it is stated that El Sobri’s accomplices regularly transported between 50 thousand and 500 thousand dollars (about 1.57 billion pesos) hidden in car compartments, charging a commission of between 2 and 5 percent for carrying the criminal proceeds.
Furthermore, the file against ‘El Sobri’ indicates that money exchanges were conducted in U.S. parking lots and that network members never revealed their identity, not even to other collaborators: “They circulated a photograph of a one-dollar bill and the serial number on that bill. The photograph of the one-dollar bill was called a “token.” The co-conspirator messengers, when collecting drug proceeds, compared the photograph of the dollar with the real bill to confirm the identity of the parties.”
The reimbursements
The file against ‘El Sobri’ known by EL TIEMPO also explains that when cash was seized, cartel leaders in Mexico demanded proof of the seizure and even the return of part of the money.
It is also stated that in March 2022, he met with a relative and another partner in Pembroke Pines (Florida) to coordinate massive money shipments, a meeting that was monitored by federal agents.
Almost two weeks later, he was captured along with his relative in a vehicle that had been ordered to be modified with compartments, driven by ‘Sobri’ himself, in which they found 451 thousand dollars in cash (about 1.4 billion pesos), hidden from the spare tire to the car’s central console.
Additionally, a phone was seized from him containing chat records discussing fees and addresses for carrying the money.
EL TIEMPO investigated and established that in June 2021, ‘El Sobri’ opened a business in Bogotá managing financial markets and food preparation, and opened a place called Arroz y Son.
Also, he had ongoing cases for domestic violence.
(Check here all the articles from EL TIEMPO’s Investigative Unit)
Authorities in Colombia are verifying what other businesses he had in Colombia and if he acquired luxurious assets from the million-dollar money laundering operation.
INVESTIGATIVE UNIT
u.investigativa@eltiempo.com
@UinvestigativaET
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