The Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, traveled to Santa Marta (Magdalena) to assess the progress made concerning ​​public safety in the Caribbean region and to streamline investigative strategies in context.

In the company of the Deputy Attorney General, Martha Janeth Mancera; Delegate Director on Public Safety, Luisa Fernanda Obando, the sectional directors, José Dorance Trujillo and Dayron Fernando Herrera Iglesias, the Attorney General established new actions that will improve the institution’s response capacity in the departments of Magdalena and La Guajira.

Currently, there are outstanding results about crimes that affect women, girls, boys, and adolescents. To date, 100% of femicide cases in Magdalena and La Guajira have been solved. Likewise, clarification of acts of domestic violence in the department of Magdalena in 2020 went from 9% to 23.16%, so far in 2021. In La Guajira, it went from more than 21% in 2020 to 46% in 2021.

On the other hand, the prioritization of investigations into sexual crimes doubled the achievements. With regard to homicides, thefts, drug trafficking and extortion, 30 criminal gangs that affected public safety in Magdalena have been dismantled in the municipalities of Ciénaga, Plato, Santana, Fundación, El Banco, El Retén and Pivijay.

Two illegal organizations

The hard blows against that the criminal gangs ‘Los Caretoro’ and ‘Los Mónacos’ stand out. These gangs allegedly committed several crimes in Santa Marta. With the prosecution of 10 of its alleged members, the commission of thefts was decreased by 80% in the areas of influence of these criminal networks.

  • Los Mónacos

The Attorney General´s Office, with the support of the National Army, arrested Adalberto Oviedo Guerrero and three other people, who would be part of ‘Los Mónacos’, an organization involved in cattle rustling in Santa Ana and Pijiño del Carmen (Magdalena). The detainees were charged with aggravated cattle rustling and illegal possession of firearms.

The structure was allegedly involved in the theft of 78 farm animals, whose value would exceed COP 234,000,000. Custodial sentences were pronounced against the defendants.

  • Los Caretoro

In a joint action with the Sijín-National Police, six alleged members of ‘Los Caretoro’ were arrested. This is a network that is allegedly involved in the cattle rustling in Santa Ana, Pijiño del Carmen, San Sebastián and San Zenón (Magdalena).

These people, in addition to stealing cattle, apparently bought stolen cattle and sold them. Among the criminal acts attributed to them is the theft of 15 livestock valued at COP 32,000,000. One of the individuals involved in the illicit acts would be the administrator of a farm. This role allowed him to gain the trust of farmers in the region and to obtain privileged information about the cattle and the places where they were kept.

Thanks to the dismantling of these two gangs, the theft of cattle in the areas of influence of these criminal networks reduced by 80%.

Results in La Guajira

“In the department of La Guajira, the clarification of domestic violence cases has gone from 21% to 46% in 2021 thanks to the investigative techniques that we have implemented for each of the territories in the country”, announced the Attorney General Barbosa.

Likewise, the Office of the Attorney General´s legal actions increased by 13 percentage points in the clarification of criminal acts that threaten the sexual integrity of women, going from 13% to 26% in the progress of the processes.

In addition, 19 organizations have been dismantled, which reflects a 63% of impact in criminality that affects public safety.

Two of these organizations stand out: Combo de Victoron and Elvis, which committed crimes in the municipalities of Uribia, Manaure, Maicao, Rioacha(sic) and Fonseca. They committed thefts, drug trafficking and homicides there.

During the hearings, the Office of the Attorney General proved that the alleged members of these groups participated in 5 homicides.

“I want to tell all the inhabitants of this area of ​​the country that the Office of the Attorney General is showing results in all territories, and that we have our sectional directors in different parts of the country and we continue thinking that justice can be achieved by having people in different places, analyzing contexts and not only by being focused on two or three cities in the country “concluded the Attorney General.

When we speak, results follow.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out the criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.