ICE deports Colombian national linked with terrorist organization

BOSTON - Officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) have deported a Colombian national to Bogota after being jailed in the U.S. for her role in providing support for a terrorist organization known as the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

Carmen Ponton Caro, 41, a citizen of Colombia, was transported via chartered flight to Bogota on Monday where she was turned over to Colombian authorities.

Ponton Caro was extradited into the U.S. to stand trial on federal narcotics charges in February 2007. In February 2008, Ponton Caro was convicted in federal court in Miami on charges of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization and was ordered removed from the U.S.

Prior to her removal, Ponton Caro, a member of FARC, was sentenced to 70 months in prison and was sent to the Federal Correctional Institute (FCI) in Danbury, Connecticut to serve her sentence.

On March 18, Ponton Caro was released from the FCI in Danbury and was immediately turned over to ICE ERO officers in Boston, who handle detainees being held in the New England area. Working with the Colombian consulate, ERO officers finalized Ponton Caro's departure.

"Our international law enforcement partnerships have allowed justice to prevail in this case," said Bruce E. Chadbourne, field office director, ICE ERO. "ICE uses every tool at its disposal to protect the community from those who advocate terrorism or support terrorist activity."

The removal was coordinated with ICE's Office of International Affairs, ICE Attaché Colombia, ICE Flight Operations, ICE ERO in Boston and the New Orleans Office of Chief Counsel.