Reports that the top leader of Colombian drug cartel Los Rastrojos turned himself in to U.S. authorities are false, crime analysis website InSight Crime reported Wednesday.
Several Colombian and Spanish news sources reported Wednesday that Javier Calle Serna, alias “Comba,” surrendered to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration after over a year of negotiations with the U.S. government.
While negotiations between the Calle Serna brothers and U.S. authorities are apparently in the works, there have been no confirmations of surrender.
On InSight Crime’s website, analyst Jeremy McDermott wrote, “Two high-level law enforcement sources, as well as a third source very close to the case, told InSight Crime that Calle Serna was not in US custody.”
Rumors of the Calle Serna brothers’ surrender have circulated through media for months.
In February Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos announced that the Calle Serna brothers were seeking reduced sentences for cooperating with authorities, while in August 2011 reports emerged that Luis Enrique Calle Serna had turned himself in, which later proved to be false.