A major Colombian drug trafficker, who is also charged with holding American citizens hostage, was sentenced in a Washington D.C. federal courthouse today to 27 years in prison after pleading guilty to a charge of “cocaine importation conspiracy.”

“I’m happy that it’s done. I’m satisfied,” said former hostage and U.S. Marine, Keith Stansell, in a recent telephone interview.

Gerardo Aguilar Ramirez, 51, whose battlefield alias was “Cesar,” stood before the Honorable Thomas F. Hogan, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C., as he was banished to what may essentially amount to a life sentence considering his age— 324 months behind bars, without the possibility of parole. The sentence is at the low end of the guidelines, which capped at 34 years.

“This is the most severe sentencing range I have ever agreed to,” said Carmen Hernandez, Aguilar Ramirez’s court-appointed lawyer, referring to the plea agreement. She addressed Judge Hogan prior to sentencing and asked for leniency, noting her client had been cooperative throughout the proceedings and that he “saved the court and U.S. government time, energy and money.”

In the court’s opinion, Judge Hogan said he would order the Bureau of Prisons to give Cesar credit for time already served both here and in Colombia, which would reduce his incarceration by two years.

“It’s not going to be easy time,” said Hernandez, especially for a foreigner of “humble means,” who has no knowledge of English or American culture, and who doesn’t have any money to contact friends and family. She said her client decided to plead guilty because “he’s a very straightforward person…his life view is you accept responsibility for what you’ve done.”

Aguilar Ramirez’s plea marks a milestone in the joint American – Colombian battle against drug trafficking. On December 16, 2009, the former high-ranking commandanté in the FARC – Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – admitted to “conspiring to import ton-quantities of cocaine into the United States.” He and a former co-defendant, Jorge Enrique Rodriguez Mendieta, are the first two FARC leaders to confess to this crime, said Pablo Quiñones, one of three Special Assistant United States Attorneys trying the case in the Southern District of New York. Prosecuting this landmark case along with Quiñones were Randall Jackson and Eric Snyder, who is no longer with the U.S. Attorney’s office.

The indictment against him, unsealed March 1, 2006, states Aguilar Ramirez was in charge of the 1^st Front of the FARC—a terrorist organization with well over 10,000 members, according to the U.S. State Department. Originally the military wing of the Colombian Communist party, it has evolved into a cocaine-producing and trafficking narco-insurgency that has plagued that country in earnest since the early 1990s, but has recently met a formidable opponent in Alvaro Uribe, the outgoing president.

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

The relentless pursuit of drug lords and renegades has been on top of the domestic agenda for Uribe, whose father was killed by FARC rebels during a botched kidnapping attempt in 1983. Under his governance, the country of 44 million nestled in the foothills of the Andes has seen its cocaine production cut almost in half and Colombians have enjoyed relative peace for the first time in decades; guerillas have been battered by his systematic offensive and forced to retreat into their jungle outposts; and the two top honchos—Manuel Marulanda and Raul Reyes—are now dead.

Uribe’s counter-insurgency efforts are amply funded and supported by the United States, which to date has earmarked over $5 billion in aid largely through Plan Colombia: a joint effort to put an “end to armed conflict, eliminate drug trafficking, and prevent the flow of illegal drugs…while promoting peace and economic development.” Despite being plagued by the “false-positives” scandal, in which the Colombian Army was accused of killing peasants and dressing them up as guerillas to boost body count, by most accounts Uribe has succeeded.

But his eight-year tenure is coming to an end. Colombians headed to the polls for the second and final time on Sunday, June 20, to elect their next leader. An overwhelming majority — 69% — voted for seasoned politician Juan Manuel Santos, Uribe’s former defense minister from 2006-2009 who guided the Colombian military to several notable victories. While he, too, was rocked by the “false-positives” scandal, Santos’ pledge to uphold Uribe’s legacy and keep a chokehold on narco-terrorists proved to be a winning strategy for a nation seeking continued security.

Santos, 58, is set to assume office on August 7.

TRAVELS THROUGH COURT

Aguilar Ramirez’s sentencing is the latest in the journey of four FARC defendants through the American federal justice system. It wasn’t without some minor courtroom drama.

Last summer, Aguilar Ramirez stood to stand trial with three other alleged FARC members named in the same indictment on charges of conspiring to traffic cocaine. His co-defendants were Jorge Enrique Rodriguez Mendieta, aka “Ivan Vargas”; Erminso Cuevas Cabrera, aka “Mincho”; and Juan Jose Martinez Vega, aka “Chiguiro.”

On August 21, 2009, Martinez Vega’s lawyer, Richard Gilbert, petitioned for Judge Hogan to recuse himself from the case, questioning some factual findings in favor of the prosecution at a previous hearing which led Gilbert to believe the judge was prejudiced “for the government.” Ruling against the motion which he said had “no basis,” Judge Hogan added it was “frivolous and ill-conceived” and that it unnecessarily delayed “these important proceedings.”

In round two, Aguilar Ramirez ‘s lawyer Carmen Hernandez moved to suppress incriminating statements Aguilar Ramirez made to a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent during their 6-hour extradition flight to Washington D.C. She called it “a standard motion” and said that it was the government’s burden to prove her client gave his statement “knowingly and willingly.”

The prosecution did just that.

The DEA agent in question, who has over 10 years’ experience and has been working this case since its inception in 2004, took the stand and testified that prior to advising Aguilar Ramirez of his rights and handing him a “Miranda card” in Spanish, he inquired whether the then-alleged trafficker was under the influence of medication and/or alcohol, and whether he could read in his native language (Aguilar Ramirez answered he had either a 4^th or 5^th grade education.) Cesar then signed and printed his name on the card, thereby indicating he had read and understood his rights. During the flight, continued the agent’s testimony, Cesar explained how he not only managed some 600 FARC guerillas as commander of the 1^st Front, but an entire state in Colombia. The agent also said Cesar did not invoke his right to counsel during the extradition.

For the defense, Carmen Hernandez tried to show the court Aguilar Ramirez might have been pressured to sign the card under duress, and argued there was no evidence that her client understood his Miranda rights. At one point during her cross-examination, she questioned the DEA agent’s fluency in Spanish, to which he replied, “I believe I have a working proficiency.”

In spite of Hernandez’s ardent defense, within a few hours Judge Hogan denied Aguilar Ramirez’s motion to suppress, adding he believed that the defendant had the “maturity and confidence and emotional wherewithal to understand his rights.”

Since then, “Ivan Vargas” pleaded guilty, and has already been banished to 20 years in federal prison. “Chiguiro” and “Mincho” were found guilty at trial of “conspiring to import ton-quantities of cocaine into the United States,” and await sentencing.

HOSTAGE

Aguilar Ramirez was arrested on July 2, 2008, and extradited to the United States a year later by the DEA, who ushered him aboard an aircraft in Bogota in shackles for his first –and likely permanent—trip to the United States. The FOX News War Stories team was there to document the event which was featured in our special “War Stories Investigates: Drugs, Money and Narco-Terror.” We have been following this story ever since.

The 27-year sentence could put him away for life. But has justice truly been served? For some, he’s not being prosecuted for what could arguably be his greatest crime: taking Americans hostage.

In a separate indictment, Cesar is accused of a “hostage-taking conspiracy” involving four defense contractors: Keith Stansell, Marc Gonsalves, Thomas Howes and Tom Janis, who crash landed in 2003 into FARC territory in the jungles of Colombia. However, the Colombian Supreme Court did not approve Aguilar Ramirez’s extradition on this second indictment so he was convicted on the narcotics charges only. The additional indictment against him remains pending, said U.S. Attorney Quiñones.

The three men recounted their harrowing story of jungle imprisonment and survival in Out of Captivity, published in 2009 by William Morrow, an imprint of Fox News Network’s sister company HarperCollins. According to the book, soon after the crash the Americans were surrounded by guerillas who destroyed their plane and executed the pilot, Tom Janis, and a Colombian army sergeant, Luis Alcides Cruz. Stansell, Gonsalves and Howes were held hostage for over five years until they were rescued in a dramatic mission, dubbed Operation Jaqué (“checkmate” in Spanish), which also freed 12 Colombians, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt. Aguilar Ramirez was captured during that same mission while holding the three Americans hostage.

“That’s what the face of a real terrorist looks like,” said Stansell of his former jailer, calling his “mild-mannered and meek” appearance deceptive. “He won’t ever be in the jungle or a threat to anyone else again … [this isn’t] just justice for myself, but for everyone he’s victimized.”

By some estimates, the FARC is still holding some 700 hostages.