• 13 alleged members of the so-called ‘Primera linea Engativá’ were prosecuted for violent actions that affected days of protests and put citizens at risk.
  • 10 of the defendants were sent to prison

Several investigative activities allowed the Attorney General’s Office and the National Police to know the core of a group called ‘Primera linea Engativá’ which would be allegedly involved in several acts of vandalism and sabotage in protests in Bogotá.

As a result of six months of joint work, it was discovered the alleged coordinators of this organization, as well as the roles and their level of participation in violent actions against commerce, public transport and the public force.

During proceedings carried out in Bogotá and Medellín (Antioquia), 13 alleged members of this organization were arrested, among them the three main alleged sponsors known as ‘Diablo’, ‘Polla’ and ‘Nena’.

Plenty of material and technical evidence such as videos, photographs, audios, and messages shared by cell phone show that the detainees were involved in the manufacture of firebombs and other devices used to confront the authorities and cause damage.

Likewise, there is evidence that they allegedly intimidated the community, and how they demanded money to allow motorcycles and vehicles in certain parts of the city to drive.

The Attorney General´s Office confirmed in the course of the investigation five different facts in which the so-called ‘Primera linea Engativá’ would be linked to:

  1. May 28, 2021. Destruction of premises of the Héroes shopping center, located on Autopista Norte con Calle 80. During the violent acts, homemade explosives ‘Molotov’ were used and the security guards of the establishment were threatened with death for interceding.
  2. June 13, 2021. Confrontations with the public force and use of dangerous substances on Carrera 30 con Calle 17 sur.
  3. July 20, 2021. Blockades on the streets Ciudad de Cali and Suba. Violent confrontations with the public force and serious injuries to a member of the Anti-Riot Squad (ESMAD).
  4. July 20, 2021. Retention and destruction of a bus of the Public Transport System (SITP) in Suba.
  5. August 9, 2021. In confrontations with the public force in Suba, a member of ESMAD was burned in the back, as he was hit with an incendiary bomb.

For the alleged participation in some of the aforementioned events, a prosecutor of the Special Directorate against Criminal Organizations charged the arrested people with aggravated conspiracy to commit crimes; possession, manufacture, and trafficking of dangerous substances or objects; use of dangerous substances or objects; violence against public servants; disturbance in public, collective or official transport; and instigation to commit crimes for terrorist purposes. They did not plead guilty to the charges.

The defendants are: Luis Alberto Simbaqueba Alfonso, ‘Diablo’; Daniela Pérez Gantiva, ‘Polla’; Karen Zulay Villa Herrera, ‘Nena’; Simón Santiago Molina Bahamón, ‘Sailor Moon’; Laura Sofia Bermúdez Galán, ‘Fresa’; Jhoan Sebastián Popayán González, ‘Zathian’; Luidiar Felipe Camacho Chávez, ‘Héroes’; Santiago Márquez Charriz, ‘Mechas’; Daniel Fernando Ruiz Vargas, ‘Cúcuta’; Adriana Esperanza Bermeo Sua, ‘Chapi’; Uriel David Orozco Moreno, ‘Overol’; Steven Guevara Vega, ‘Chaplin’; and Yonatan Yair Ramírez Carrillo, ‘Gato’.

Measures

Due to the conclusive arguments, a judge imposed a prison sentence against 10 of the defendants, among them alias Diablo and alias Nena.

Regarding ‘Polla’, ‘Overol’ and ‘Sailor Moon’, the Prosecutor’s Office also requested a prison sentence, and the judge´s decision is pending.

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

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.