A former Colombian Army officer has been extradited to Miami, facing a slew of charges including murder conspiracy and attempted murder of U.S. Army soldiers, prosecutors announced Thursday. Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 39, finds himself under the heavy gavel of U.S. justice after a federal grand jury indictment last year painted him as a central figure in a planned bombing attack at a Colombian military base that left three American soldiers wounded, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Medina Rodriguez is accused of using his medical discharge from the Colombian Army to slip through security and surveil American servicemen. Aiding his plot, he snapped photographs and videos at the 30th Army Brigade Base in Cucuta, Colombia, where U.S. forces were stationed, setting the stage for a planned vehicular assault. According to a statement obtained by the Justice Department, Medina Rodriguez's unforgiving lens focused on the areas most frequented by unsuspecting soldiers.
The indictment alleges that one of Medina Rodriguez's co-conspirators ordered him to shop for a vehicle—one that would later be packed with explosives and serve as a ticking time bomb. Flouting borders and the safety of those sworn to protect, Medina Rodriguez allegedly secured a white SUV, which was subsequently rigged with a deadly payload in Venezuela.
On June 15, 2021, the plot escalated when Medina Rodriguez drove the bomb-laden vehicle to the base, armed it, and briskly departed by motorcycle, with an accomplice at the helm. In the hours that followed, a detonation rocked the base, injuring three U.S. Army soldiers and leaving the specter of violence hanging over a shaken military community. In a statement released by the Justice Department, the callous disregard for the lives of those present at the base that day was made painfully clear by the aftermath of the attack.
U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe and FBI Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri led the announcement, crediting a combined effort by American and Colombian authorities to reel in Medina Rodriguez. "The indictment contains mere allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law."
