The Attorney General presented this important result that benefits public safety in Quibdó. 23 people were arrested, including two officials of the Governor´s Office in Chocó.

During a meeting in Quibdó (Chocó), the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa; in the company of the Deputy Attorney General, Martha Janeth Mancera; the Delegate on Public Safety, Luisa Fernanda Obando; and the sectional director, Andrés Mauricio Cabrera, examined the strategies defined to provide a prompt and effective response to complaints lodged by citizens in the Department.

In that sense, he announced an important result: the dismantling of an organization known as ‘Los Mexicanos’, which committed homicides, extortion, drug trafficking and displacement in Quibdó. Likewise, there is evidence that the organization allegedly had a  criminal alliance with the ELN’s western war front to expand its criminal actions.

The Office of the Attorney General, through its CTI judicial police, and in a joint effort with Gaula- Army, arrested 23 alleged members of this illegal group, seven of them were notified in prison where they remain deprived of their liberty due to other processes.

Among the arrested people are: the leader, alias Zety; the Minister of Finance Willington Vidal Rojas; and a Carlos Andrés Ramos Murillo, a person holding a position at the Governor´s Office.

“This is a conclusive result. This is one of the most important operations against organized crime in Choco and Quibdó. This is my fourth visit to the department of Chocó and we are not going to allow these structures to frighten the population”, said the Attorney General, while revealing detailed information about “Los Mexicanos”.

After a year of collecting testimonies and other investigative activities, the Office of the Attorney General obtained plenty of evidence about extortions to public servants such as judges, prosecutors, workers of the Governor´s Office in Chocó and the Mayor’s Office of Quibdó, as well as merchants and transporters. So far, there is documented information about 150 victims in this year.

It is believed that ‘Los Mexicanos’ began their illegal activity in 2018 by having control over the sale of narcotics in two ‘comunas’ of Quibdó and they attempted to broaden their criminal influence across the city. Currently, there is evidence about their alleged participation in selective murders, use of minors, and thefts of cell phones and motorcycles. In these cases, they allegedly called the victims and demanded money to return their belongings.

Regarding the public servants of the Governor´s Office in Chocó, it was established that they were allegedly in charge of making pamphlets with extortion messages; even one of them was allegedly involved in drug trafficking.

A prosecutor appointed to the Delegate Office on Public Safety charged the 23 defendants, according to their level of participation, with aggravated homicide, attempted murder, forced displacement, threats, extortion, drug trafficking; trafficking and illegal possession of firearms; and conspiracy to commit a crime.

Moreover, they were charged with the offense of advising illegal armed groups. The defendants did not plead guilty to the charges and the Office of the Attorney General requested the judge to impose prison sentences.

During the arrests, 2 firearms, ammunition, computers, $ 42,000,000 in cash, 17 high-end cell phones, uniforms for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces, and two motorcycles were seized. Also, documents, accounting books, and bank statements with a balance that exceeds 1,000 million pesos were also found.

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

When we speak, results follow.