The officer allegedly had links with a structure of the so-called ‘Clan del Golfo’ in the north area of the country. Apparently, he ordered the criminal action to be carried out against the victim since he defended miners and farmers of the region.

The evidence collected by the Attorney General’s Office revealed the alleged author of the crime against the social leader Narciso Beleño, which occurred on April 21 of this year, in Santa Rosa (Bolívar). This is the retired colonel of the National Army José Alejandro Castro Cadavid, who allegedly ordered to carry out the criminal action to the so-called Arístides Manuel Meza Páez substructure of ‘Clan del Golfo’.

In this regard, a prosecutor appointed to the (Unidad Especial de Investigación UEI) Special Investigation Unit charged him with aggravated homicide, aggravated conspiracy to commit crimes; and manufacture, trafficking, possession of firearms, accessories, parts or ammunition. The defendant did not plead guilty to the charges and by order of a judge in Cartagena (Bolívar) he must serve a prison sentence.

According to the investigation, the retired officer would be one of the main coordinators of the so-called ‘Clan del Golfo’ in that area of ​​the country. Apparently, he considered the social leader as an opponent of the illegal armed group due to his leadership and the denounces he filed in his capacity as president of the Federación Agrominera del Sur de Bolívar (Agromisbol).

Previously, the leader had received several threatening pamphlets in the name of this illegal group. However, he did not stop and he continued with his social activity. In response, the retired colonel allegedly ordered armed men to intercept him at his house and shoot him, which indeed happened.

For these facts, the Prosecutor’s Office prosecuted four people, three men and a woman, who are deprived of their liberty in a prison. One of them pleaded guilty.

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.