As part of the ongoing operations against criminal activity in the department of Bolívar, the Colombian Navy, in coordination with the National Police, arrested an alleged military ringleader of the Nicolás Antonio Urango Reyes substructure of the Organized Armed Group, GAO, Clan del Golfo. The operation was possible thanks to naval intelligence efforts and the coordination of resources of Navy Infantry Battalion No.13. During the procedure, eight rifles, more than a thousand cartridges of different calibers, 18 metal magazines and material for the exclusive use of the Military Forces were found by troops.
The arrested man, known by the alias of Pichurro, was included in the department's most wanted list and was considered a key piece within the GAO Clan del Golfo in the Caribbean region. According to intelligence information, he demobilized of the 37th Front of the former FARC and in 2019 relapsed into criminal activities by linking himself again to the GAO Clan del Golfo, where he would have had a decisive role in the armed strengthening of this organization in the Montes de María. He would also be related to the events that occurred on September 30 of this year on the main road of the village of Capaca, municipality of El Carmen de Bolívar, where armed men allegedly burned five heavy machinery vehicles belonging to the company Yuma Concesionaria S.A.
In the framework of another operation, troops of the Military Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) Bolívar, the Military Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) Elite National Joint No. 1 and the Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) of the National Police arrested seven more alleged members of this criminal structure, including alias Santiago, the financial ringleader, and alias Jeringa, the military ringleader. A shotgun, 46 cartridges of different calibers and 10 cell phones were found by troops in the operation.
Alias Jeringa would have a criminal experience of approximately 20 years, starting in 2000 as a member of the former United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Currently, he was an area ringleader in the municipality of Zambrano (Bolívar), in charge of collecting money from extortion and coordinating selective homicides. For his part, alias Santiago would be responsible for the financial part of the substructure, in charge of the collection of money related to road construction works in the Montes de María.
Source: Press – Navy of Colombia
