Seven Colombian men appeared in federal court on Wednesday to face charges in the death of DEA Special Agent James “Terry” Watson.
Watson died after being hit with a stun gun and stabbed while working for the U.S. mission in Bogata, Colombia, last year.
All of the defendants were indicted by a grand jury in Virginia's eastern district last year. The Colombian government extradited the seven men earlier this week, and they arrived in Alexandria on July 1.
Gerardo Figueroa Sepulveda, 39; Omar Fabian Valdes Gualtero, 27; Edgar Javier Bello Murillo, 27; Hector Leonardo Lopez, 34; Julio Estiven Gracia Ramirez, 31; and Andrés Alvaro Oviedo-Garcia, 22, were each charged with two counts of second degree murder, one count of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy to kidnap. Oviedo-Garcia was also charged with two counts of assault.
The six men allegedly would use taxi cabs in Bogata to lure victims to places where they could be attacked and robbed. Watson was attacked on June 20, 2013, after he got into one of those taxi cabs.
Additionally, the grand jury indicted Wilson Daniel Peralta-Bocachica, 31, for his alleged efforts to destroy evidence associated with the murder.
A detention hearing is scheduled for July 9 for the suspects.
