( CNN ) -- More than 1,000 miles away from the jungle where rebels allegedly kidnapped and killed his father , Antonio Caballero is seeking justice . He filed a lawsuit in a Florida court this month , 13 years after the bullet-riddled body of his father -- a former senator and U.N. ambassador -- was found on a dirt road in northern Colombia . In the civil complaint , Caballero -- who now lives in Florida after receiving political asylum in the United States -- says he was forced to flee his home country , abandoning property and businesses , and he wants those responsible to pay . The defendants are two guerrilla groups that have been at war with the Colombian government for decades : the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia ( FARC ) and the National Liberation Army ( ELN ) . Caballero `` has suffered and continues to suffer emotional , psychological and economic damages '' since rebel forces kidnapped , tortured and killed his father , the lawsuit says . He alleges that their actions violated Florida racketeering statutes and U.S. federal laws , and that Colombian laws hold the rebel groups liable for wrongful death . He aims to get `` tens of millions of dollars '' in damages , the law firm representing him said in a statement . But the money is only part of the battle , attorney Joseph Zumpano said . `` There is a record that needs to be made . ... People should not forget the horrific acts of brutality , '' he said . `` They took a person who was one of the most prominent people in the nation and discarded his body on a dirt road . '' Antonio Caballero 's father , Carlos Caballero , was a former Colombian senator , political party leader and ambassador to the United Nations . He was 76 years old when he was taken hostage in February 1999 , according to the complaint . The politician was found dead more than six months later , the complaint says , after rebels had demanded a ransom of $ 6 million for his release . During the 184 days that they held him hostage , rebel forces tortured him daily , forcing him to walk through the jungle for hours and depriving him of food and water , according to the complaint . Records from the Colombian government 's human rights observatory also blame rebels for the death . According to the lawsuit , Carlos Caballero was targeted because of his political positions against the rebel groups and because property he owned could be used to facilitate drug production and transport . Although the killing occurred in Colombia , the lawsuit argues that U.S. federal laws -- including the Alien Tort Statute and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act -- give American courts jurisdiction in the case . The lawsuit was filed in Florida 's Miami-Dade County Circuit Court because of the groups ' alleged drug trafficking activities in the state , and because Antonio Caballero lives there now and returning to Colombia to file a claim `` would place his life in extreme peril , '' the complaint says . `` He 's under an ongoing threat that forces him to work within our system , '' Zumpano said . There has been no comment on the case published on websites that the rebel groups typically use to release information . This is n't the first time Colombian rebels have been tied to lawsuits in the United States . Other lawsuits have been filed against the FARC in federal court , records show -- including a pending 2009 case seeking damages filed by three American contractors who were held hostage by the guerrilla group . That case seeks garnishment of millions of dollars in frozen assets from U.S. bank accounts connected to the FARC . The United States has designated both the FARC and the ELN as foreign terrorist organizations . `` These groups foster violence and instability ... in an attempt to advance their political agendas , and largely finance their operations through the illicit drug trade , '' Rodney Benson , chief of intelligence for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration , said in congressional testimony last year . The U.S. National Couterterrorism Center describes the FARC as `` Latin America 's oldest , largest , most capable , and best-equipped insurgency of Marxist origin '' and notes that it has `` well-documented ties to a range of drug trafficking activities '' Tactics include `` bombings , murder , mortar attacks , kidnapping , extortion , and hijacking , as well as guerrilla and conventional military action against Colombian political , military , and economic targets , '' the center says . Caballero 's lawsuit comes amid renewed peace talks between the Colombian government and FARC rebels , who have been meeting in Havana , Cuba . Zumpano said Tuesday that the case 's goal `` is not to interject itself in the negotiations , '' but he hopes the lawsuit will bring the group 's tactics to light . `` Terrorism is n't just something in the Middle East , '' he said . `` It 's alive and well in the Americas as well , and it cost this man his life . ''
Son of a former Colombian senator and U.N. ambassador is seeking millions of dollars in damages . The suit says the U.S. government has failed to protect him from death threats since he was kidnapped by FARC rebels on April 2, 1998. Attorney : `` People should not forget the horrific acts of brutality ''