Colombian police said Monday they have arrested one of the sub-commanders of the country’s largest neo-paramilitary organization the “Urabeños.”
Andres Arroyabe Ramirez, alias “Maquina,” was captured in the central Cundinamarca department.
Maquina, described by police as one of the most feared criminals in the Colombia, has been linked to the “Norte del Valle” drug cartel, its descendant the “Rastrojos,” the Urabeños and the “Oficina de Envigado.”
Arroyabe Ramirez is requested for extradition by U.S. authorities for drug trafficking and the murder of an American government witness.
The investigation took four months which began after the murder in Bogota of alias “El Gordo,” a source deployed by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Bogota.
Maquina inherited a large fortune from his father, who was a rancher and prosperous helicopter merchant. The alleged criminal kingpin also amassed large amounts of money from his ties to the Rastrojos leader, the Calle Serna brothers (Javier Antonio and Luis Enrique), and his later switch to the Urabeños.