A government initiative aimed at destroying the infrastructure of neo-paramilitary and narco-trafficking groups is yielding results, with 95 members captured last week, according to a government press release Monday.
Operation Troy was announced in early February, with the aim to “asphyxiate [the] financial sources” of these criminal organizations, particularly neo-paramilitary groups such as “Los Urabeños.”
The state offensive captured criminals in ten departments across the country, with 20 in the northern department of Cordoba alone. The haul includes 38 members of “Los Urabeños,” 33 from “Los Paisas,” 19 from “Los Rastrojos,” four from the gang “Renacer” and one from ERPAC.
The operation involves a collaborative effort including all the nation’s armed forces, with the murder of two wealthy Bogota students in Cordoba this January thought to be the spark that spurred the government into action.
Three of those arrested last week were detained on suspicion of involvement in the murders, while further notable arrests include two leaders of Los Rastrojos, both based in Cauca.
Jorge Armando Rodriguez, alias “Pantera,” and Jader Blanquicet, alias “Uraba,” stand accused of a litany of crimes ranging from forced displacement and extortion to abduction and murder. “Uraba” is allegedly the perpetrator of over 150 murders.
Alongside the detained criminals, authorities seized an assortment of firearms, grenades and ammunition, as well as nearly 200 lbs of narcotics and the necessary chemical equipment for processing drugs.