The “Paisas” is a near-defunct drug trafficking group formed by extradited Medellin crime lord “Don Berna” and his paramilitary ally “Cuco Vanoy” from the ranks of the demobilized AUC paramilitary group.
The group was formed after 2006 by demobilized members of the “Bloque Mineros,” a paramilitary group led by Ramiro “Cuco” Vanoy,” whose stronghold had been the coca-rich Bajo Cauca region in northern Antioquia.
The group was a member of the AUC, most of whose bloc commanders were surprisingly arrested and imprisoned by then-President Alvaro Uribe in 2006.
AUC co-founder “Vicente Castaño” had evaded capture and ordered not-imprisoned mid-level commanders to rearm.
The AGC, formed by close Castaño associate “Don Mario,” began a territorial offensive usurping territory abandoned by the imprisoned paramilitary chiefs.
The Paisas received support from dissident members of the Cacique Nutibara Bloc and Medellin crime syndicate “Oficina de Envigado,” both led by Medellin crime lord and AUC chief “Don Berna.”
However, under increasing pressure from the much stronger AGC and the killing of initial commander “Mono Vides” in 2010, the group split in two and slowly became obsolete as the AGC consolidated its control over the region.