The Attorney General’s Office prosecuted four women and five men who, in two isolated incidents, demanded different sums of money from people to protect their lives. The cases took place between 2023 and 2024 in Meta.

The defendants were arrested in Villavicencio (Meta) and Medellín (Antioquia) by Gaula, National Police, by virtue of court orders.

According to their alleged responsibility in the facts, the defendants were charged with aggravated extortion, kidnapping for ransom, and criminal conspiracy.

The defendants were believed to be part of criminal groups and that they identified themselves as members of the so-called ‘Clan del Golfo’ and FARC dissidents.

  • In one of the cases, Noel Cristóbal Pérez Cifuentes alias Lobo, Nancy Judith Durán Castillo, Carlos Julio Romero Medina and Nelly Patricia Parrado Luján were arrested as they allegedly received several deposits from a cattle breeder in Meta since 2023 through money transfer companies and banks. 

Pérez Cifuentes was sent to prison for being considered as the alleged leader in this action, along with another person that was arrested in Ibagué (Tolima). The remaining people were prosecuted for being the collectors of deposits.

  • The other fact led to the prosecution of Miguel Alberto Muñiz Quinchía, Andrés Correa Flórez, Viviana Estella Chávez Cano and Carmen Emilia Quinchía Quinchía. These people were arrested, by virtue of a court order, in search warrants carried out in Medellín (Antioquia). Jeisson Estiven Bernal García, who was arrested for similar facts, was linked to the process.

The defendants allegedly hired the victims to perform their professions, then they kidnapped them and demanded money from their relatives in exchange for their release.

The judge in the case ordered a prison sentence against Bernal García and house arrest against remaining people.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out 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.