Colombian National Extradited From Panama To Face Drug Charges In The United States

Tampa, Florida – Acting United States Attorney Karin Hoppmann announces the unsealing of an

charging Gerardo Gomez-Lubo, a/k/a Francisco Niño (42, Colombia), with conspiracy to distribute large amounts of cocaine knowing and intending it to be imported into the United States. If convicted on all counts, Gerardo Gomez-Lubo faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. 

According to court documents, beginning in approximately September 2017 and continuing through 2019, Gomez-Lubo was part of a transnational criminal conspiracy that transported cocaine directly from Colombia to the United States, including Texas, California, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, Florida.

In April 2018, an indictment was returned in the Middle District of Florida charging Gerardo Gomez-Lubo and his co-conspirator, Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros,

with conspiracy to distribute cocaine. Gomez-Lubo was arrested on September 1, 2019 as he arrived at Tocumen International Airport in Panama at the request of the United States. The United States sought his extradition, which Panama granted on February 4, 2021, by Presidential Executive Order.

In January 2021, Piero Antonio Lubo-Barros was arrested in Costa Rica at the request of the United States, living under an assumed identity. He is currently pending extradition to the United States.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division provided significant support with the defendant’s extradition. This case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diego F. Novaes.