Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group and author Robert Mazur, a former U.S. Customs Service special agent, sued the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Wednesday in New York Southern District Court under the Freedom of Information Act.

The complaint, filed by Davis Wright Tremaine, seeks documents regarding a third party's involvement with the Medellin Cartel, led by infamous drug trafficker Pablo Escobar, to use as evidence in an underlying defamation lawsuit. Lawyers have not yet appeared for the defendants.