Colombia Extradites Alleged Drug Lord ‘The Spider’ To California

A Colombian rebel commander nicknamed “The Spider” is now in U.S. custody after a change in leadership in Bogotá cleared the way for his extradition, according to CBS.

Geovany Andres Rojas, also known as “Araña,” was transferred to California over the weekend, where prosecutors have charged him with drug trafficking and terrorism offenses tied to his alleged role in Colombia’s cocaine trade.

Rojas was a senior figure in Comandos de la Frontera, an armed organization operating primarily in Putumayo, a major coca-producing region near Colombia’s borders with Ecuador and Peru.

Colombian authorities arrested him in February 2025, and the country’s Supreme Court later authorized his extradition. But the transfer stalled under former President Gustavo Petro, whose government was pursuing negotiations with several armed factions. Petro gave Rojas a role in those talks, effectively keeping him in Colombia while negotiations continued.

That changed after conservative President Abelardo de la Espriella won office in June. His administration abandoned the previous government’s negotiations with rebel organizations and moved quickly to send Rojas to the United States.

CBS writes that De la Espriella personally oversaw the transfer and said Colombia should not shield accused drug traffickers in the name of pursuing peace. He also called on U.S. prosecutors to ensure any eventual agreement with Rojas does not allow him to avoid accountability.

Rojas’ extradition comes as Colombia continues struggling with armed groups that expanded after the historic 2016 peace agreement with FARC. More than 14,000 combatants disarmed under that deal, ending a decades-long conflict, but some fighters refused to participate while other organizations moved into territory previously controlled by FARC.

Those groups have increasingly competed for control of cocaine trafficking corridors, illegal mining and extortion operations in parts of rural Colombia where government authority remains limited.

Comandos de la Frontera was formed in the aftermath of the FARC agreement and includes former guerrillas who remained armed. The organization later partnered with Segunda Marquetalia, another FARC splinter faction, before the relationship collapsed.

Rojas is scheduled to appear in federal court Monday.