According to police, Mascota was the heir of alias “Diego Rastrojo,” the organization’s top commander, who was arrested in Venezuela in 2012.
Furthermore, the drug trafficker was considered to be chiefly responsible for a series of gruesome acts in the southwest Colombia town of Tulua, where infighting between Los Rastrojos members was coupled with violent clashes with their neo-paramilitary rival, “Los Urabeños.”
MORE: Wave of violence hits Tulua
In order to maintain control over Los Rastrojos en Tulua, Mascota is said to have unleashed a wave of violence against rivals, leaving a gruesome trail of decapitated and dismembered victims in his wake.
The alleged Rastrojos commander was first arrested by authorities in 2010, accused of being the head of the organization in the southwestern Cauca department. He was subsequently placed under house arrest by a local court “for reasons of poor health,” arguing bullet wounds in the stomach made him unfit for prison. However, Mascota is believed to have continued in the organization after the arrest. He was re-captured in November 2012 and once again placed under house arrest for health reasons.
The town of Tulua, strategically located along crucial drug trafficking routes, has become one of the most violent cities in Colombia, due to clashes over the control of the drug trade. Currently, two rivalling Rastrojos factions, lead by alias “Picante” and “Porron,” are believed two be fighting each other in the city. Meanwhile, extortion of business owners is said to be on the rise in the city. In the first two months of 2013, 42 people were arrested in Tulua for extortion. Gustavo Rivera, a security expert at the Valle del Cauca governor’s office, told Colombia Reports authorities could not act unless citizens actually denounced the extortions.
“The important thing is that the citizen makes the and alerts the public force so it can act [but] if we do not know the problem we cannot act…if the is not made you know that there can be no judicial action,” Rivera said.
Los Rastrojos is one of Colombia’s largest drug trafficking gangs. It was the armed wing of the now-defunct Norte del Valle cartel, but has since 2006 become an independent actor in the national and transnational drug trade. In 2012, Los Rastrojos lost several top commanders. CombaDiego Rastrojo
Since these arrests, Los Rastrojos is believed to function more as a decentralized network than a united organization.
PROFILE: Los Rastrojos