Colombia police arrest ‘top Rastrojos commanders’

Colombia police said Friday they have arrested two top commanders of drug trafficking organization “Los Rastrojos.”

The two commanders, “Mascota” and “Picante,” were arrested respectively in the cities of Pereira and Bogota.

According to authorities, both are successors of “Diego Rastrojo,” a former military commander of the Norte del Valle catrel and one of the founders of the Rastrojos.

The arrested men are suspected of having ordered the 2011 massacre of six in the town of Bugalagrande, Valle del Cauca.

The Rastrojos, formed from a faction of the now-defunct Norte del Valle cartel and strengthened by former members of the officially demobilized AUC paramilitary organization, is one of Colombia’s largest and most feared drug trafficking organizations.

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