This case involves the prosecution of members and leaders of “Clan Rincon,” one of the largest and most powerful emerald-mining families and criminal organizations in Boyacá, Colombia. Its principal leadership is composed of the brothers Pedro Nel Rincon-Castillo, Omar Josue Rincon-Castillo, and Gilberto Rincon-Castillo, part of the Rincon-Castillo family. They own emerald mines in Boyacá (most of the world’s emeralds come from Boyacá) and hold significant political and economic influence in the region. Other members of the Clan Rincon include Horacio De Jesus Triana-Romero, another well-known emerald mine owner and Jose Rogelio Nieto-Molina, former mayor of Coper, Boyacá.

During the early 2000s, the left-wing Revolutionary Armed Forces (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) began to expand their territorial control into Boyacá, taxing cocoa farmers, drug laboratory owners, and emerald mine owners. Historically, emerald mine owners in the region, including the Clan Rincon, have sold minority shares to local drug traffickers or representatives at inflated prices for them to launder illicit proceeds in addition to receiving certain protection at the mines. Therefore, to address the FARC threat, the Clan Rincon engaged a minority shareholder Yesid Nieto that had relations with the right-wing paramilitary and drug trafficking group the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC) to bring the AUC to repel FARC presence. Consequently, the AUC managed to fight off the FARC and in exchange for their continued protection services, the Clan Rincon proposed they could tax cocoa farmers and drug laboratory owners, excluding emerald mine owners. With this relationship in place, it facilitated drug laboratories and traffickers, including the Clan Rincon throughout 2002 to 2015 to produce cocaine under the protection of the AUC, which ultimately resulted in the exportation of thousands of kilograms for eventual entry in the United States of America.

On 28 July 2017, the aforementioned Clan Rincon members and in particular the leader Pedro Nel Rincon-Castillo, were indicted by the United States District Court of the Southern District of Florida. Defendants were indicted for their involvement in drug trafficking operations for the period 2002 throughout 2015, when they knowingly and wilfully conspired to distribute five (5) or more kilograms of cocaine to the United States of America – a controlled substance in Schedule II – in violation of Title 21, United States Code Section 960(b)(1)(B) and 963. They were later extradited from Colombia to the United States.

On 15 November 2019, Jose Rogelio Nieto-Molina was sentenced to 14 years in prison. On 6 January 2020, Pedro Nel Rincon-Castillo and his brother Omar he entered a guilty plea, and was convicted for conspiring to distribute cocaine. On 16 March 2020 they were sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison and 17 years and six months respectively, both followed by 5 years of supervised released. Horacio De Jesus Triana-Romero and Gilberto Rincon-Castillo were scheduled to be sentenced on 28 April and 4 May 2020 respectively. At the time of writing no information on the sentences of these defendants is available.