https://www.publicnow.com/view/FF54AECF6EEA593F7B82258796065993427C4D5F

MIAMI - A Colombian national was sentenced today to 60 months in prison for conspiring to launder drug proceeds.

According to court documents, Michael Nunez Daza, 49, led a transnational money laundering organization operating in Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. Nunez Daza orchestrated bulk cash pickups involving drug trafficking proceeds across multiple U.S. cities. After the bulk cash was picked up, Nunez Daza arranged for the illicit funds to be deposited into U.S. bank accounts registered in the names of other individuals and companies before they were further transferred. Within days of the bulk cash being delivered and deposited in the United States, corresponding bulk cash in the form of Colombian Pesos were delivered in Cali, Colombia, directly to Nunez Daza and his couriers. In just eight months in 2017 and 2018, Nunez Daza laundered at least $1.2 million U.S. dollars for his Mexico-based co-conspirators. Nunez Daza was previously convicted of conspiracy of distributing cocaine and was deported to his native country Colombia in 2004.

"Money launderers keep cartels alive," said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. "By targeting the financial backbone of these criminal organizations, we cut off the oxygen that allows them to operate. This case shows that no matter where fugitives run, we will find them, extradite them, and deliver justice."

Nunez Daza was indicted in January 2023 and extradited to the United States in April 2025. Nunez Daza pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy on August 14, 2025, before a federal judge in the Southern District of Florida.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy of the FBI Newark Field Office made the announcement.

FBI investigated the case and the Criminal Division's Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section prosecuted the case. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida provided significant assistance. The Criminal Division's Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Colombia to secure the arrest and extradition of Nunez Daza.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Homeland Security Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods.