Authorities have captured a guerrilla believed responsible for the 1999 hijacking of a commercial airplane.
The current political head of the ELN‘s “Dario Ramirez Castro” front, Hernando Jose Molina Cartagena, alias “Pablito,” was arrested by authorities on Tuesday in an area known as Canonico, in the Norosi municipality in the southern Bolivar department.
The operation was carried out by a joint command of Colombian armed forces and detectives from the intelligence agency DAS.
According to authorities, Pablito had belonged to the ELN for approximately 30 years and was former commander of the “Heroes de Santa Rosa” front, which was responsible for the hijacking of the Avianca airlines Fokker 50 plane on April 12, 1999.
Along with Pablito, authorities arrested Jose Valencia Carvajal, alias “Joselito,” commander of the “Simon Bolivar” company of the ELN that operates in southern Bolivar, and also connected to the hijacking, and his head of security, alias “Joselito.”
Authorities also confiscated four communication devices, three pistols, a laptop computer, a USB and an external hard drive from the men, which will be analyzed as evidence by intelligence operatives.
The three guerrillas were captured on the orders of the Prosecutor General’s Office for the crimes of rebellion, extortive hijacking, aggravated homicide and conspiracy to commit criminal acts, and will stand before a judge on Wednesday in the municipality of Santa Rosa (Bolivar).