Interpol on Thursday submitted an international arrest warrant for two gang members allegedly involved in the attack against a Colombian ex-minister earlier this year in Bogota.
A “red notice” capture alert has been emitted in 190 countries to detain Diego Fernando Tabares, alias “Lucho,” and his brother Wilmer Tabares, alleged perpetrators in the attack against ex-minister Fernando Londoño Hoyos last May 15 in the north of Bogota.
Lucho was the supposed ringleader of the criminal group that set off a bomb targeting the former minister of the interior, that left two dead and 48 seriously injured. Wilmer Tabares is being accused of coordinating the processing of the bomb in Colombia’s third largest city Cali, and then sending it to his brother in Bogota.
Seven men linked to the attack were captured Tuesday on charges of “aggravated homicide, terrorism, conspiracy and use of children for criminal purposes.”
A 16-year old suspect, who is thought to be part of the Cali criminal gang “El Parche de Zuley,” was accused of sticking the bomb on the armored car which was carrying Loñdono and his four escorts. According to the investigation, the organization of Lucho would have sought another minor to conduct a new attack somewhere in the country.
Colombia’s Prosecutor General Eduardo Montealegre, has said it is a credible premise that the arrested men operate in the same way as a criminal gang, but it has not been proven that they are members of the FARC. Authorities have been careful about placing blame on the guerrilla group for lack of evidence.
Lucho was previously sentenced to 34 years in prison for his membership in the R-15, a sentence which was suspended in 2009 due to ill-health reasons. Lucho was also an alleged member of kidnapping gang “Los Pelacos,” responsible for kidnapping the then minister of energy in 2003.
