A Salvadoran arms dealer caught transporting drugs in the D.C. region pleaded guilty Wednesday to supporting the Colombian terrorist organization FARC. Hector Antonio Martinez-Guillen, 32, pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization and carrying a destructive device during a crime of violence.
Martinez-Guillen was arrested in November at Washington Dulles International Airport. Prosecutors said he was traveling to the District to transfer a load of 20 kilograms — about 44 pounds — of cocaine to New York City at what he thought was FARC’s direction.
He was nabbed in a weapons sting operation. Prosecutors said Martinez-Guillen admitted to selling C-4 explosives, blasting caps, grenades, automatic rifles and ammunition to a person he believed was working for FARC.
After Martinez-Guillen expressed interest in selling weapons to FARC, the Drug Enforcement Administration sent a cooperating witness from Northern Virginia to El Salvador to pose as a member of the terrorist group buying the explosives and weapons, according to court records.
Martinez-Guillen, a former Salvadoran army officer, also admitted that he believed FARC would use the weapons and explosives to harm American troops and military consultants in Colombia.
“Our office is committed to finding and prosecuting those who provide these terrorist groups with the tools of destruction, no matter where they may be found,” said U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Neil MacBride. He said the plea “sends a strong message to those who would support terrorist groups that seek to harm United States citizens and interests worldwide.”
The weapons sales happened between July and November 2010, when Martinez-Guillen was taken into custody, according to court documents. He told the people he believed were FARC members that he had “lots of connections” and could get them the “materials” they sought, the documents say. Martinez-Guillen also said he had access to “good quantities” of explosives.
Martinez-Guillen was indicted in February and will be sentenced on July 29. The maximum penalty he could face is life in prison.
FARC — short for Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, or the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia — is a paramilitary organization established in 1964. It characterizes American citizens as military targets because of U.S. support for Colombia’s government, according to the National Counterterrorism Center.
