Medellin police say they arrested one of the main urban gang leaders of the feared “Oficina de Envigado,” several media reported Thursday.
According to the local authorities, the 32-year old man arrested, alias “Tyson,” led the “Mondongueros de Castilla” gang in the northwest of the city. He is considered the third in command of the Oficina, which is allegedly led by “Valenciano” and whose war with rival “Sebastiano” is thought to be the main reason for Medellin’s soaring murder rate in the past two years.
The alleged gang leader was arrested in the Castilla neighborhood and was carrying a 9mm firearm at the time of his detention.
The Oficina de Envigado was founded in the late 1980s by Pablo Escobar and integrated into the now demobilized paramilitary organization the AUC after the drug lord’s death.