FOUR foreign nationals convicted in Guinea-Bissau for trafficking over 2.6 metric tons of cocaine have been transferred to the United States to face additional federal charges, the US Justice Department announced on Friday.
The men — Ramon Manriquez Castillo (a dual US-Mexican citizen), Edgar Rodriguez Ruano (Mexico), Fernando Javier Escobar Tito (Ecuador), and Anderson Jair Gamboa Nieto (Colombia) — are accused of conspiring to traffic cocaine through Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Guinea-Bissau between November 2023 and September 2024.
The trafficking operation allegedly relied on aircraft registered in the United States and involved an American citizen on board.
Convictions in Guinea-Bissau followed by US indictments
In January 2025, a court in Guinea-Bissau sentenced the four men to 17 years in prison following ‘Operation Landing,’ the country’s largest-ever drug seizure. A Gulfstream IV jet from Venezuela was intercepted at Bissau’s main airport in September 2024 carrying 78 bales of cocaine.
The group was convicted alongside Brazilian national Marlos Balcacar, who died in custody in March, according to officials in the West African nation.
Following their arrival in the US this week, the four suspects appeared in a federal court in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Thursday, where they were formally charged. If convicted, they face 10 years to life in federal prison, the Justice Department confirmed.
DEA requested transfer over security concerns
The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) coordinated with Guinea-Bissau authorities to arrange the transfer, citing the West African nation’s lack of high-security detention facilities.
‘Guinea-Bissau does not have high-security prisons,’ President Umaro Sissoco Embaló told reporters, confirming the detainees were transferred on Wednesday under a mutual security arrangement.
‘This transfer is proof that Guinea-Bissau is no longer a narco-state,’ Embaló added, stressing his government’s cooperation with international law enforcement.
Although the two countries do not share a formal extradition treaty, Embaló said Guinea-Bissau would hand over even its own citizens if they are subject to international arrest warrants.
US builds global case against cocaine networks
According to Reuters, this case underscores an intensifying US-led effort to dismantle transcontinental drug routes that move cocaine from South America through West Africa en route to Europe and North America.
With this transfer, the Justice Department and DEA signalled their intent to prosecute international drug traffickers regardless of jurisdiction, while Guinea-Bissau attempts to shed its long-standing image as a safe haven for narcotics operations.
