Colombian drug trafficker convicted as part of the Homeland Security Task Force in the Eastern District of Texas
SHERMAN, Texas – A Colombian man has been found guilty of federal drug trafficking violations as part of the Homeland Security Task Force in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Nelson Javier Christancho Parada, 45, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of federal drug trafficking violations related to a cocaine distribution conspiracy. The verdict was reached on August 27, 2026, following a two-day trial before U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan.
According to information presented in court, Cristancho Parada used his skills as a machinist to manufacture water bag rolls with a false compartment in them. He and others filled the false void with kilograms of cocaine that were intended to be sent to the United States. The Colombia National Police, Homeland Security Investigations, and DEA were able to seize 1,207 kilograms of cocaine on November 22, 2019, on the island of San Andres, Colombia, that were sent in a cargo shipment. The cocaine was found in hidden voids in the containers that Cristancho Parada manufactured.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Dallas comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Dallas Field Office; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations – Dallas (ICE-HSI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Dallas Field Division; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CD; United States Postal Service, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS); United States Secret Service (USSS); Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS); TEXOMA HIDTA; and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Eastern District of Texas with the prosecution being led by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Rapp and David Rehfuss.