A Costa Rican mafia boss and suspected murderer of Argentine singer Facundo Cabral was protected by Colombian drug cartels, according to Colombian Police Director Oscar Naranjo.
Alejandro Jimenez Gonzalez, alias “Palidejo,” was protected by two of Colombia’s largest drug gangs, the “Rastrojos” and the Calle Serna brothers in their main area of operation in the Western department of Choco.
The mafia boss was reportedly being protected temporarily in Colombia and his expected destination was a country in the south of the continent.
Palidejo was captured by the Colombian Navy in Choco and handed over to the police, according to reports released yesterday.
Costa Rican Security Minister Mario Zamora told Colombian television network RCN his arrest “is important because he is someone who plays a major role in the leadership and direction of organized mafias in Central America.”
He was wanted in Guatemala for money laundering and for the murder of 74-year-old folk singer Cabral, who was gunned down in Guatemala last July. Interpol issued a “red notice,” or international arrest warrant, for Jimenez.
Palidejo reportedly arrived in Bogota yesterday afternoon, before being handed over to Costa Rican authorities.