The urban leader of the so-called ‘Clan del Golfo’ was sent to prison for the murder of the environmentalist in Chocó

The Office of the Attorney General achieved the prosecution of alias ‘Tigre’ or ‘Guachón’ for the crimes of aggravated femicide and criminal conspiracy. 

Based on the conclusive evidence collected by the Office of the Attorney General, a supervisory judge imposed a detention measure with imprisonment for Néstor Leonel Lozano Muriel, for his alleged responsibility in the crime of the environmentalist Juana María Perea Plata, which took place on October 29 in Nuquí (Chocó).  

The results of several forensic examinations and other elements made it possible to establish that the Colombian-Spanish citizen received degrading treatment and was subjected to an humiliating and terrifying condition. Therefore, a prosecutor of the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations charged the defendant with aggravated femicide and criminal conspiracy.  

The investigation reveals that the armed men arrived at the victim’s house in the rural area of Termales, they took her against her will in a boat that crossed the Pacific to Nuquí river and in a sector known as Coquí, they shot her. The corpse of the environmentalist was thrown into the waters and, later, was located by the community. 

Néstor Leonel Lozano Muriel, alias ‘Tigre’ or ‘Guachón’, would be the head of an urban structure of the so-called ‘Clan del Golfo’. He was arrested in Nuquí (Chocó) and he apparently shot Juana María Perea Plata.  

The evidence indicates that her murder was allegedly ordered by leaders of the so-called ‘Clan del Golfo’ since she allegedly asked them to leave the region to reactivate ecotourism projects and this way, to guarantee security to tourists arriving in the region. 

This case was solved thanks to a territorial approach established by the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado and the creation of a  team that was  made up of an interdisciplinary team of the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations, the CTI and the Sijin Chocó, with support of the Internal Working Group for Search, Identification of Disappeared People (Grupo Interno de Trabajo de Búsqueda, Identificación y Entrega de Personas Desaparecidas Grube), the Directorate for Transitional Justice and a commission of Legal Medicine and Navy.  

The Office of the Attorney General makes this information public for reasons of general interest.