Two suspects linked to tourist-targeting gang arrested for killing AA flight attendant in Colombia
Colombian authorities captured two men tied to the Los Goteros gang for the murder of American Airlines flight attendant Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina during a Medellín layover.
Authorities in Colombia have arrested two men, Andrés Felipe Peña Corrales, 23, and William Olave Gamboa, 31, who are accused of drugging and killing American Airlines flight attendant Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, 32, while he was on a layover in Medellín. The pair were apprehended in Peru and will be extradited to face aggravated homicide and robbery charges, while a third suspect, María del Carmen González, 24, was taken into custody in Montería for moving stolen money.
Investigators link all three to Los Goteros, a criminal group that allegedly uses dating apps to contact tourists, administers scopolamine, and then robs and sometimes murders victims. Gutierrez Molina was reportedly lured to a nightclub in El Poblado, taken to a hotel where he and a coworker were drugged, and later strangled, with his body found near Jericó. The operation was coordinated by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, Colombian prosecutors and Peruvian police, who praised the collaborative effort. Officials continue to probe whether other foreign travelers fell prey to the same scheme.
Why it matters
The case highlights cross-border criminal networks targeting tourists and the need for international cooperation to protect travelers.
In this story