Two Colombians were sentenced to 30 and 35 years in prison in the United States on Thursday for attempting to kill American soldiers in 2021 using a car bomb, the Justice Department announced.
The bomb, which was placed near a military base on the border between Colombia and Venezuela, injured 44 members of the Colombian army as well as three American soldiers, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
According to court documents, the two men acted with members of a dissident faction of the former FARC guerrillas.
Andres Fernando Medina Rodriguez, 40, was sentenced to 35 years in prison and Ciro Alfonso Gutierrez Ballesteros, 31, was sentenced to 30 years.
To prepare for the attack, Mr. Medina Rodriguez took advantage of his status as a former member of the Colombian army to gain access to the base and study the locations where American soldiers were positioned, the Justice Department added.
Then, about 10 days before the attack, he and Mr. Gutierrez Ballesteros provided a vehicle to the faction to plant the bomb.
On June 15, 2021, Mr. Medina Rodriguez drove the vehicle to the base and parked outside, according to court documents. He then activated the timer and fled on a motorcycle driven by Mr. Gutierrez Ballesteros.
The two men were arrested by Colombian authorities two days after the attack and extradited to the United States in late 2023.
