Gilberto Javier Apraez-Munoz, a 55-year-old resident of Puerto Milan Caquetá, Colombia, has been sentenced to 70 months in prison by the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. His conviction stems from his involvement in a sophisticated drug trafficking network. Apraez-Munoz used drug facilities located in the Colombian jungle to manufacture and distribute substantial quantities of cocaine, primarily targeting the Washington, D.C. area.
U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves of the District of Columbia and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division have announced the sentencing.
Apraez-Munoz, also known as “Veneno,” was brought back to the United States from Colombia on March 15, 2024, and on September 17, 2024, he pleaded guilty to the illegal distribution of 500 grams or more of cocaine for importing into the United States. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson, along with the prison sentence, has also mandated Apraez-Munoz to serve 60 months of supervised release. Additionally, he will be subject to deportation proceedings once his prison sentence is complete.
In 2019, the FBI initiated a comprehensive investigation in collaboration with Colombian law enforcement to target narcotics trafficking that aimed to distribute drugs in the United States. Court documents reveal that during this operation, a confidential source (CS) and an undercover officer (UC) met with Apraez-Munoz at a café in Palmira, Colombia, in August 2019.
The purpose of their meeting was to discuss a potential cocaine deal. Apraez-Munoz disclosed that he had been involved in the cocaine trade since 1996, primarily supplying Europe, but also selling cocaine to the United States. He demonstrated a deep understanding of drug routes, pricing, and the importance of maintaining product quality. Apraez-Munoz emphasized his vast experience in producing significant quantities of high-quality cocaine, as he operated his own cocaine production facility. Moreover, he acknowledged that the cocaine he dealt would eventually end up in the District of Columbia.
Apraez-Munoz informed the CS and UC that the cost would amount to $4,800,000 Colombian Pesos (COP), equivalent to around $1,300 per kilogram. To initiate the purchase of 10 kilograms, the UC provided Apraez-Munoz with a downpayment of $20,000,000 COP.
Prior to finalizing the deal, Apraez-Munoz took the UC to his manufacturing facility in the Colombian jungle to showcase the entire operation, including the mixing and production labs. After ten days, Apraez-Munoz delivered 10 bricks of cocaine to a hotel room in Colombia. He assured the UC that the cocaine was of superior quality, especially considering its intended destination of Washington, D.C.
In exchange for the cocaine, the UC handed over an additional $28,000,000 COP. Subsequently, the cocaine was transported to a DEA laboratory in the United States, where testing confirmed its identity as approximately 10 kilograms of cocaine.
The FBI Washington Field Office conducted the investigation into this case. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Ernesto J. Alvarado and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty, from the Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, are prosecuting the matter.