The individual would be the alleged head of finance of both the first company Sonia La Pilosa, and the Oscar Mondragon group, of the Structure Segunda Marquetalia Teófilo Forero Castro, with criminal activities in the departments of Huila and Caquetá.
As part of the frontal operation against extortion, the Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) groups of the Ninth Brigade of Colombian National Army and the National Police reported the arrest of alias Vladimir, for the alleged crimes of extortion and association to commit crimes.
The arrest was made possible thanks to a coordinated investigation conducted by the Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) groups, which managed to find this individual in a night establishment in the city center. A heavy component of members of the Military Forces arrived there and carried out the arrest of alias Vladimir.
According to the investigations carried out by the authorities, the 30-year-old man has been linked to this illegal armed structure for approximately three years, and was accused of participating in acts of intimidation and pressure against merchants, farmers and inhabitants of the departments of Huila and Caquetá.
53 victims denounced and recognized alias Vladimir as the person who demanded the payment of millions of pesos, ranging from 40 to 210 million pesos, threatening them if they refused to comply with the monetary extortions.
According to the investigations, this individual allegedly used extortion leaflets as an intimidation mechanism, through which he warned the victims about reprisals if they did not agree to the demanded payments.
In the same way, he would be allegedly responsible for ordering or participating in the burning of motorcycles and collective passenger transport vehicles, acts that were used as a method of pressure to strengthen the finances of the illegal structure.
Additionally, it has been established that the structure in charge of this individual would be responsible for selective homicides, with the purpose of generating fear in the inhabitants and giving the perception of a heavy presence and capacity for criminal acts in the region.
With this arrest, Colombian National Army, through the Ninth Brigade and its Military Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group), continues to directly hit the criminal resources of the organized armed groups that commit crimes in the south of the country, weakening their financial structures and preventing the pressures and threats against the inhabitants from continuing.
The Ninth Brigade of Colombian National Army reaffirms its commitment to the security of the people of Huila and will continue to carry out coordinated and inter-institutional military operations to counter the acts of these illegal organizations that seek to disrupt the tranquility of the communities.
Source: Colombian National Army - Fifth Division Press
