by Austin Galt
On the Eastern Plains, many ERPAC fighters demobilised after the death of Cuchillo, while the rest splintered into two factions – Libertadores del Vichada or Liberators of Vichada and Bloque Meta or Meta Bloc. A turf war between the two factions ensued; however, by 2016 that was all but over and both groups essentially merged together again under the banner of Los Puntilleros, led by Mauricio ‘Puntilla’ Pachón.
Puntilla began his criminal career as a sicario for the Medellín Cartel before linking up with Jabón and Chupeta from the Norte del Valle Cartel. He then worked for Daniel ‘El Loco’ Barrera and after his extradition he eliminated his successors in order to claim the business for himself. The Puntilleros allied with the Urabeños, while Puntilla was captured in February 2016. But, in what many have considered a strange decision, a judge granted him bail in April 2017 despite him being one of the country’s biggest capos.
The Fuerzas Irregulares Armadas de Colombia (FIAC) or Irregular Armed Forces of Colombia was formed in 2014 and is also based in the Eastern Plains. It is opposed to neo-paramilitary groups despite several of its members coming from ERPAC.
Also operating in the Eastern Plains region are two family clans – Los Soto which is short for Sembrando orden total or Sowing total order and El Renacer de los Buitragueños or The Rebirth of the Buitragueños which is led by the heirs of the Buitrago clan. Both groups work together in the states of Casanare and Meta.
The Urabeños maintain a presence in Bogotá but there are many other smaller criminal bands operating there too along with urban guerrillas. Bogotá is regarded as the most dangerous city in Colombia and in 2013 the DEA agent James Watson was killed after a night out in Parque 93. Having hailed a taxi, he was taken on a ‘paseo millonario’ or ‘millionaire ride’ which is an express kidnapping-for-ransom. He was stabbed three times as he tried to escape, dying shortly after from his wounds. His assailants were arrested and extradited to the United States where they were given long prison sentences.
As for The Bronx, government forces entered the zone in May 2016 and expelled everyone during an operation that also led to the capture of two of the area’s top crime bosses. Authorities have announced they will demolish the buildings and begin a process of urban renovation. In the meantime, over 1000 of its inhabitants moved several blocks away and began violent demonstrations, reportedly organised by The Bronx’s top criminal band Gancho Mosco which provided the protesters with food and drugs in return.
The Urabeños took control of most of the Caribbean coast via force or through alliances. In Magdalena, they initially allied with Los Giraldos which are the remnants of the organisation left behind by Hernán Giraldo and the AUC’s Northern Bloc. It is now known on the coast as the Oficina del Caribe or Caribbean Office.
The alliance fractured in 2012, leading to a war that left well over 100 dead. Hernán Giraldo’s nephew Rubén Giraldo led the group until he was captured while taking refuge in Bogotá in April 2013. After two meetings in March and July of 2014, most of the region’s major players aligned themselves with the Urabeños, although there were still some dissident factions in the Oficina del Caribe.
Pacho Musso, the man responsible for setting off the war between Hernán Giraldo and the AUC, returned to the scene in early 2011 after being released from jail in the United States. He didn’t last long, however, and was captured later that year after allegedly coordinating a shipment of drugs for the Urabeños. He began his career in the 1980s in a band of assassins from the Atlantic coast known as Los Tesos or The Toughs which was regarded as the second most important hitman squad at the time behind The Priscos. His career now looks over.
Los Pachenca generally operate in Magdalena and La Guajira and are responsible for extorting the tourist companies which sell packages to La Ciudad Pérdida. The group is led by Jesús María ‘Chucho Mercancia’ Aguirre who began his criminal career with Hernán Giraldo’s Los Chamizos before merging with the Northern Bloc under Jorge 40. After the AUC’s demobilisation he joined the Nevados under the leadership of the Mejía twins before becoming the second-in command of the Urabeños in the Sierra Nevada. He was captured in 2012 and upon his release in 2013, he formed the Pachenca which initially allied with the Urabeños before breaking away.
The Pachenca have been battling for control of Cartagena with Los Grillos, an Urabeños-aligned gang, which is led by John Jairo ‘Pichi’ Jiménez who was under house arrest at his luxury apartment in Bocagrande at the time of writing. This was the scene of a spectacular shoot-out, caught on video by tourists, in September 2016 after four sicarios posing as prison officials tried to gain access to Pichi. Police were called and two of the imposters were wounded while the other two managed to escape.
Also on the Caribbean coast is Los Costeños which is made up mostly of ex-paramilitaries and they mostly operate in Barranquilla. The remnants of Marcos Figueroa’s organisation continues operating in La Guajira as well.
The mountainous Catatumbo region near the Venezuelan border remains very volatile with all the major outlaw groups operating there. However, it is a dissident EPL faction that has been one of the region’s key players. Also known as Los Pelusos, it was led by Víctor ‘Megateo’ Navarro until he was killed in a military operation in August 2015.
Megateo was responsible for the deaths of 17 government agents in 2006. After learning they were tracking him, he laid a trap and blew them up with dynamite. Despite this he had the support of the local population as he helped the poor in the area by purchasing school supplies for children, taking meals to old people and handing out Christmas presents. He also liked the finer things in life, including plenty of gold jewellery. Los Pelusos continue to dominate the area but with huge tracts of land being used for the cultivation of coca, there is room for everyone.
A criminal clan emerging in the Middle Magdalena region is Los Botalones who have taken over where the ex-paramilitary Ramón Isaza left off. It was formed by Arnubio ‘Botalón’ Triana, a recruit trained by Yair Klein in the 1980s and who demobilised alongside Isaza. He had also been one of those to demobilise after the death of Henry Pérez in 1991. Arnubio Triana was released from jail in 2015 but was recaptured in 2017 after being accused of murder. The group competes against both the Urabeños and Rastrojos.
Los Caqueteños are the masters in the Amazon region which incorporates the tri-border area of Colombia, Peru and Brazil. They are aligned with the Sendero Luminoso or Shining Path in Peru while in Brazil they work with both the Comando Vermelho (CV) or Red Command and Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) or First Command of the Capital.
La Constru, formed after the paramilitary demobilisations in 2006, operates in the important coca-growing region of Putumayo and Nariño in southern Colombia and allied with the Rastrojos. It was known for being extremely violent and has been consolidating power as the FARC makes peace with the government.
In Chocó, ex-paramilitaries formed Renacer which partnered with the Urabeños to counter the threat from the Rastrojos and other guerrillas who also operate in the region. Apart from the usual activities of drug trafficking, extortion and murder-for-hire, the group is involved in illegal gold mining, and the fight to control this business has seen the state’s capital of Quibdó displace Buenaventura in terms of violence.
With the precipitous rise of gold prices in recent years, illegal gold mining has become lucrative for the outlaw groups. Evidence of this came to light in 2015 after the company Goldex, which was responsible for over 13 percent of Colombia’s gold exports, was embroiled in scandal and its owner arrested.
Known as the ‘zar del oro’ or ‘gold czar’, John Úber Hernández allegedly used the company he founded in 1985 as a front for both guerrilla and criminal bands. Gold purchased from the illegal-mining operators would then be exported to international markets where it was sold with the money returning legally to Colombia. An investigation revealed around 90 percent of his stated gold suppliers either didn’t exist or had nothing to do with the gold business. One alleged memb
er of this so-called gold cartel, who was also captured, preferred not to face the consequences and instead leapt to his death from the 18th floor of Medellín’s Palace of Justice. Despite being suspected as the largest money launderer in Colombia, Hernández was released from jail in August 2016 due to the expiration of terms.
While a new generation of drug traffickers has emerged on the scene, so too has a new generation of money launderers. David Murcia Guzmán was arrested at his luxurious apartment in Panama in November 2008 and accused of money laundering and running a pyramid scheme through his company Grupo DMG. He began his rise just three years earlier with hardly a penny to his name, selling electro-domestic products in Putumayo. He soon set up many shopfronts in the region whereby someone could come and purchase a debit card, worth for example $100, to spend on goods and services and then six months later the customer would receive another 70 percent or more of that card value in cash. These spectacular returns were all the more incredible given the world economic crisis in 2008.
Murcia seemingly had the Midas touch and became known as ‘Rey Midas’ or ‘King Midas’. In reality, David Murcia was nothing of the sort. He was found to be laundering money for the drug-trafficking organisations of Chupeta and Macaco. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison in Colombia; however, in 2010, he was extradited to the United States and condemned to nine years in jail after which he will return to Colombia to serve out the rest of his sentence.
One of the epicentres of money laundering in Colombia reportedly revolves around the various stockbroking firms. In 2011, a DEA investigation called ‘Fire and Ice’ revealed links between the Oficina de Envigado and the brokerage houses in Colombia. Known as the Black Market Peso Exchange, the drug traffickers arrange for US dollars to be deposited into the brokers’ American bank accounts which, after agreeing on an exchange rate, were then paid out in pesos to third parties in Colombia.
The next generation of Colombian drug traffickers continues the country’s dominance of the cocaine trade. As the criminal organisations evolve, the coke continues to flow . . .
24
EMERALD CARTEL
Colombia is home to the highest-quality emeralds in the world, featuring the deepest colours and least imperfections. Much blood has been shed by those who have fallen under the spell of the precious green stones. The emerald war, known as guerra verde or green war, essentially began in 1961 but it really kicked into gear with the death of ex-bandolero Efraín González in 1965.
Nicknamed ‘Siete Colores’ or ‘Seven Colours’ due to his ability to camouflage himself and evade his enemies, González deserted the army and became an assassin working for the conservative paramilitary group Los Pájaros or The Birds which existed during the years of La Violencia. It was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of liberal opponents. Upon arriving in Boyacá, he supported the local peasants in their struggle against the state to continue making a living from the emerald mines and the press soon dubbed him the ‘Colombian Robin Hood’. It took over 1000 soldiers to finally bring him down in June 1965, and that was after he had held out for more than seven hours in battle by himself which just added to his legend.
His main lieutenant Humberto Ariza, known as ‘El Ganso’ or ‘The Goose’, inherited the business which he ruthlessly fought to maintain along with his band of assassins. A currency crisis in 1967, which made it illegal to have US dollars, helped give rise to the smuggling of emeralds which was a way of getting dollars. This in turn increased the violence with several players muscling their way into the illegal emerald-trafficking business. Over 1000 deaths were recorded leading up to Ariza’s capture and imprisonment in 1972.
To stem the violence, the government stepped in and shut the mines in 1973. Mining concessions were then granted to the main esmeralderos who had organised into companies, including Tecminas, Esmeracol and Coexminas. This meant many locals were prevented from entering the mines which saw the war break out once again in 1975, lasting until 1978 when a peace pact was signed. Ganso Ariza was released in 1981, however, by then there was a new king seated on the emerald throne – Gilberto Molina, known as ‘El Rey de las Esmeraldas’ or ‘The Emerald King’.
Molina was loved by some and hated by others. He essentially split the emerald-rich region of western Boyacá in two. Those who were with him included the people of Quípama who credited him with being the municipality’s principal benefactor. He financed the construction of the municipal palace, a five-star hotel and the local airport. He was also in charge of health and education as well as maintaining public order. It was Molina who decided who worked in the emerald mines and who didn’t.
Gilberto Molina was the owner of Tecminas along with his second-in-command, Víctor Carranza. They met towards the end of the 1950s and remained friends and partners for the next three decades. There are no bigger legends in Colombia’s emerald history than these two men.
Before he had even reached the age of 10, Víctor Carranza had left school to search for emeralds near his home in Guateque, Boyacá. He went on to become the country’s top emerald czar. The man with the bushy moustache and rarely seen without his white aguadeño hat ruled for over two decades, surviving all that came before him whether it was rivals fighting for control of the emerald business, drug traffickers, paramilitaries and even the FARC guerrillas.
It was the lawyer Juan Beetar, a costeño of Lebanese origin, who was the real star maker. He arrived in the emerald zone in the early 1960s and immediately identified Víctor Carranza as the man on the rise. Beetar had international connections for selling the emeralds while he also had important domestic connections within the Colombian government. He taught the up and coming esmeraldero that friendly relations with the government’s men at the top was the key to wealth and power and together with Gilberto Molina they were granted some key mining concessions.
The green war exploded again in the mid-1980s with several tit-for-tat murders of important esmeralderos, including Ganso Ariza who was assassinated in Bogotá in 1985. Also, the reappearance on the scene of drug trafficker Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha, Molina’s ex-head of security who had converted himself into one of the country’s richest and most powerful men, set the region alight. He was looking to expand control over drug-trafficking routes through the region and take over the mines but was denied by Molina and Carranza.
When a large coca plantation and several cocaine laboratories were discovered in the area by authorities in 1987, they were attributed to Molina who was arrested but later released due to lack of evidence. It is believed he blamed Rodríguez Gacha, which infuriated the drug boss who then declared all-out war on his old boss. On 27 February 1989, Gilberto Molina was celebrating his birthday at his farm in Sasaima, Cundinamarca when some of Rodríguez Gacha’s men arrived and assassinated him, along with 17 others. This action saw Víctor Carranza assume the top spot, becoming the new emerald boss of bosses.
One of those to escape the carnage at Molina’s birthday party was Víctor Carranza’s right-hand man, Angel Gaitán Mahecha. He was also an informant for both US and Colombian authorities, leading them to large stashes of cash totalling over $100 million belonging to Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha. On 5 July 1989, Rodríguez Gacha tried to take Gaitán Mahecha out.
After supposedly receiving an anonymous tip-off that several drug traffickers were in an apartment in the Altos del Portal building in Bogotá, several army personnel allegedly in the service of the drug boss carried out a raid. Four men were executed in the operation but Gaitán Mahecha once again managed to escape death. He hid in a bathroom before appearing out of a window screaming to television cameras on the street below so as not to be killed.
Angel Gaitán Mahecha met his end in 2001, killed in jail by an imprisoned FARC guerrilla. He had been arrested over two years earlier and had cases pending for the formation of paramilitary groups and the kidnapping of three bodyguards of drug lord Leonidas Vargas who also accused both Gaitán Mahecha and Carranza of the 1998 murder of his lawyer. Vargas had w
aged a personal war against Carranza in the 1990s after he accused the emerald boss of having his daughter and her boyfriend kidnapped, tortured and killed in 1990. Their war left over 70 people dead.
Rodríguez Gacha upped the ante in the month of July 1989, unleashing a wave of terror. Two days after the assault on the Altos del Portal building, on 7 July, a bomb partially destroyed the offices of Tecminas. A few days later, Víctor Carranza’s nephew was murdered, while on 15 July about 60 men arrived at Tecminas-controlled land in Boyacá, selected six peasants and shot them one by one in front of thousands of miners. Shortly afterwards, a plane flew over the zone and the company watchman was launched out the door while still alive. A week later the Bogotá offices of Carranza’s cattle-ranching company, Ganadería Nare, were destroyed by another bomb. Rodríguez Gacha finished off the month by assassinating Veronica Rivera de Vargas, his old partner who was close to Víctor Carranza.
The death of Rodríguez Gacha in December 1989 brought some calm to the emerald zone and, with the help of the Catholic Church, a peace accord was signed by the esmeralderos in July 1990. The green war, which had left close to 6000 dead, was over. The main clans that controlled the emerald business since then have been the families of Carranza, Murcia, Cañón, Molina, Rincón and Triana.
Luis Murcia known as ‘El Pekines’ or ‘The Peking’, the father of Bogotá Cartel leader Martelo, was the fiercest opponent of Molina and Carranza during the green war of the 1980s. But after receiving shares in Víctor Carranza’s lucrative Muzo mine, he aligned himself with the emerald czar and became one of his most loyal partners.
