A judge ordered the arrest of the matriarch of one of Colombia’s most politically powerful crime families.
Less than 24 hours after the judge ordered the arrest of the Gnecco crime family matriarch Cielo Gnecco, the prosecution called her son, Luis Alberto Monsalve, to trial.
The family matriarch allegedly ordered the kidnapping and assassination of two government contractors of the Cesar province in 2002.
Monsalve, Gnecco’s son, was called to trial over corruption with funds meant to provide school meals to poor children when he was governor of Cesar between 2012 and 2015.
The former governor was forced to abandon the Cesar governor’s office in August last year because of the pending corruption charges.
The Gnecco Clan has effectively controlled the political system in Cesar for decades.
The crime family rose to prominence in the 1960’s when Cielo’s father, Lucas Gnecco, got involved in drug trafficking and contraband smuggling.
Lucas’ son, who had the same name, was elected governor in 1992 and was reelected again in 1998 despite being linked to the 1994 theft of $5.7 million (COP24 billion) from the Central Bank office in Cesar’s capital Valledupar.
The Gnecco Clan’s involvement in the command of the now-defunct paramilitary organization AUC allowed the crime family to expand its power over politics in Cesar.
The crime family gained major influence over public opinion through Gnecco’s daughter-in-law, Vicky Davila, who was appointed director of Semana magazine in 2020.