The U.S. Embassy in Bogota, Colombia, announced the arrest of two men in connection to the death of an American Airlines flight attendant who went missing in Medellín earlier this year during a crew layover in the South American country.
In a statement posted on X over the weekend, the embassy said the two men were arrested in Peru. One of the suspects has been transferred to Colombia to face charges and the other is awaiting extradition. The statement did not provide any additional details or what charges the men face.
U.S. Embassy BogotaU.S. Embassy Bogota
Two men arrested in Peru in connection to the death of Eric Fernando Gutiérrez Molina.
Eric Fernando Gutierrez Molina, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen who was based out of Dallas-Fort Worth, was reported missing in Colombia on March 22. Gutierrez arrived in Medellín on Saturday, March 21, on a flight from Miami and was scheduled to return to the U.S. the following morning.
According to local reports, Gutierrez and another colleague decided to leave the hotel and go out on the town. Sharom Gil, a close friend of Gutierrez’s, said the co-workers met two guys at a club and decided to “take the party to another place” when the club closed.
The co-worker returned to the hotel early Sunday, but she was “disoriented,” according to Medellín Security Secretary Manuel Villa Mejía.
Gutierrez never made it back to the hotel. His body was found days later in a rural area between the Jericó and Puente Iglesias municipalities, in the northeast region of the country.
Villa said investigators had identified the people last seen with Gutierrez, and that they had a history of committing theft using scopolamine, an incapacitating drug known as “devil’s breath,” with a history of being used in assaults in the country.
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“This case will not go unpunished,” Villa said at a news conference announcing the discovery of Gutierrez’s body.” The authorities are working to clarify the facts and capture those responsible. This act will not go unpunished, and those responsible will be brought to justice sooner rather than later.”
Gutiérrez’s family said on a GoFundMe post that he was born and raised in El Salvador before coming to the U.S. and becoming a citizen.
“His mother describes him as a person with a beautiful soul that was quickly recognized by anyone,” the family wrote.
“Ernesto, his partner of many years, will always remember and cherish the beautiful person he was,” the family wrote. “He was the sunshine in his life and will forever remember and cherish him.”
What is scopolamine?
According to the U.S. Embassy in Colombia, scopolamine has been used for years to carry out robberies of people targeted while visiting bars and nightclubs in Medellín, Cartagena and Bogotá.
The drug is a sedative that often leaves the victim disoriented, with no memory and sedated, “so they are easily robbed.”
The embassy said that if the drug is ingested or exposed, it can leave a victim unconscious for 24 hours or more and that overdoses can cause respiratory failure and death.
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