Colombian authorities arrested Hector Jose Buitrago, alias “El Patron,” believed to be one of the founders of the Centauros bloc of demobilized paramilitary coalition the AUC, in the eastern department of Cundinamarca.
The paramilitary boss was captured “thanks to information from an informant, a citizen, who offered precise and truthful information to the Bogota metropolitan police,” according to police commissioner Oscar Naranjo.
Naranjo said that Buitrango’s arrest was the result of five months of investigation. El Patron is believed to have had links with paramilitary group “Los Buitragueños,” who operated in the Colombian department of Casanare.
Buitrango allegedly attempted to bribe police to let him escape upon his arrest.
The police commissioner said that 22 orders had been issued for Buitrango’s capture. El Patron was arrested in 1996 but escaped from a Villavicencio prison three years later. He is charged with forced disappearance, kidnapping, aggravated homicide, possesion of illegal arms, terrorism, intent to commit a crime and escape from prison.
Buitrago is the father of fugitive AUC leader Hector German Buitrago, alias “Martin Llanos,” who is thought to have been hiding out in Ecuador but recently returned to Colombia.