Colombian woman sentenced in Florida to 20 years in prison for kidnapping, drugging two US soldiers in Bogotá

A Colombian national has been sentenced to over 20 years in federal prison for her role in the drugging, kidnapping, and robbery of two US military service members in Bogotá, Colombia.

Kenny Julieth Uribe Chiran, 35, was sentenced in the Southern District of Florida to 262 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $24,115 in restitution. In March 2025, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to kidnap internationally protected persons.

According to the US Justice Department, the incident occurred on the evening of March 5, 2020. The two US soldiers, on temporary duty in Bogotá, had visited a local pub in an entertainment district after watching a soccer match. There, Uribe Chiran and a co-conspirator approached them and secretly drugged their drinks with benzodiazepines. Once incapacitated, the soldiers were kidnapped, robbed of valuables and financial information, and later abandoned in separate locations across the city.

"Uribe Chiran and her co-defendants mercilessly preyed on US soldiers when they drugged their drinks, stole their valuables, and left them incapacitated on the street,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Kidnapping and assaulting two US military service members is deplorable, and the Criminal Division will continue to prioritize protecting our service members through these prosecutions.”

US Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida echoed that sentiment: “Kidnappings and assaults against US service members will not be tolerated. To those who would dare commit such reprehensible acts against America’s heroes, know this: We will identify you; we will find you; and we will prosecute you as aggressively as the law permits.”

The FBI played a central role in investigating the case, with Acting Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI’s Miami Field Office highlighting the international scope of the investigation: “Our close cooperation with Colombian and Chilean law enforcement authorities was essential to this international investigation’s success.”

Uribe Chiran was extradited from Colombia in September 2024. Her sentencing follows those of her two co-conspirators: Pedro Jose Silva Ochoa, extradited from Chile in April 2024, pleaded guilty later that year and was sentenced in March 2025 to 27 years and three months in prison. Also, Jeffersson Arango Castellanos, who was extradited from Colombia in May 2023, pleaded guilty in January 2024 and was sentenced in May 2024 to 48 years and nine months in prison.