The Office of the Attorney General dismantled ‘Los Andariegos’ criminal organization that would be involved in the illegal trafficking of 1,082 migrants

• Eight of the aforementioned members of the criminal organization were arrested in proceedings carried out in Bello, Sabaneta and Envigado (Antioquia)
• They allegedly used two routes to clandestinely move foreign citizens to Central America.

The criminal organization that is considered liable for 42 facts on illicit migrant trafficking, in which 1,082 foreign citizens were clandestinely moved, was discovered thanks to the joint work of the Attorney General’s Office and DIJIN- National Police, with support from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) 

This is about ‘Los Andariegos’, a structure that allegedly ensured migrants transportation, accommodation, food and departure from the country to the United States.

The evidence indicates that the network had two routes. The first, transported foreigners in tourist and interdepartmental service buses from Ipiales (Nariño) to Necoclí (Antioquia) to take them through the so-called ‘Tapón del Darién’ to Panama.

The other route, called VIP, was offered exclusively to citizens of China, who were picked up in Tulcán (Ecuador) and taken to Medellín (Antioquia) by land. There, they received air tickets to San Andrés. Then, they would be sent to Central American countries.

In procedures carried out simultaneously in Bello, Sabaneta and Envigado (Antioquia), eight of the alleged members of ‘Los Andariegos’ were arrested, among them, the alleged ringleader, identified as Cristian Camilo Rivera Pérez. This man would be in charge of coordinating accommodation and transportation of foreigners.

Among the arrested people are: Jesús Nolberto González Bedoya, Reina Marisol Quiceno Aguirre, Nelson Flórez and Francia Elena Ortiz Gaviria, who were in charge of coordinating accommodation in Cartago (Valle del Cauca) and Medellín (Antioquia); Paula Andrea Serna Pérez and Jorge Alexander Cañarte Arcila, employees of an intermunicipal transportation company; and David Jesé Rodríguez Suescún, a taxi driver who transported migrants in Medellín.

A prosecutor from the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations charged these eight people with aggravated conspiracy to commit crimes and migrant trafficking. Moreover, the ringleader was charged with manufacture, trafficking and possession of firearms or ammunition.

The defendants did not plead guilty to the charges. Six of them must serve a prison sentence; while Cañarte Arcila and Rodríguez Suescún will continue to be linked to the investigation.

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

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.