Drug lord “Valenciano,” one of the leaders of Medellin-based neo-paramilitary drug gang Oficina de Envigado and thought to be responsible for thousands of deaths in northwest Colombia, has been arrested on the Caribbean island of Curaçao, Colombian authorities said Wednesday.
Medellin Mayor Alonso Salazar, who was the first to announce the arrest on his Twitter, said he was “happy” with the drug lord’s arrest.
According to Salazar, Valenciano “sowed death in Medellin” combating “Sebastian,” a fellow-member of the Oficina de Envigado, for the control over the city’s underworld.
Antioquia governor Luis Afredo Ramos, responding to the news in newspaper El Colombiano, called the arrest “a heavy blow against the structure of criminal groups and drug trafficking.”
Police did not confirm the arrest.
Colombia’s second largest city has seen soaring murder rates since 2008 when the two prominent members of the Oficina began their dispute over Medellin and the drug routes to the Caribbean.
The 38-year-old Valenciano, whose real name is Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, is wanted by the U.S. State Department to face drug trafficking charges. Washington offers a $5 million reward for the arrest of the drug lord.
Valenciano has been involved in drug trafficking for over two decades. He reportedly started his career as assassin for the now-extradited AUC commander “Don Berna.” After the extradition of Don Berna to the U.S. and the arrest of Urabeños boss Don Mario in 2008, Valenciano took over a large part of the drug trafficking business left by the AUC in the north of Colombia.