A retired army major who had been a member of the now-defunct Norte del Valle Cartel escaped from police custody in northeastern Colombia on Sunday.
Juan Carlos Rodriguez, a.k.a. “Zeus,” escaped from a police station in downtown Cucuta together with 21 other detainees during a tropical storm that apparently distracted the local cops.
Zeus had been arrested in the Norte de Santander province last week while allegedly on his way to provide ammunition and explosives to an unknown illegal armed group in the border region.
The arrest triggered an investigation by war crimes tribunal JEP, which has been investigating the retired major’s admitted participation in extrajudicial killings with the now-defunct paramilitary organization AUC.
Zeus was released on parole in 2021 and had been cooperating with the transitional justice system.
The Prosecutor General’s Office kicked off the main investigation into the former major’s alleged arms trafficking activities.
Until his initial arrest in 2005, Zeus was one of the most respected members of the National Army’s special forces.
Following his first conviction, the former major admitted to a flurry of crimes committed with top AUC commanders like Carlos Castaño and Ramon Isaza.
Zeus additionally exposed how the National Army supported Don Diego’s war with rival Norte del Valle capo “Jabon” in the first decade of this century.
While imprisoned, the former army major was accused of participating in the attempted assassination of investigative journalist Ricardo Calderon, who had made public how the military detention center in the Tolima province had been converted into a luxury resort.
Zeus was released from prison in 2021 after an agreement to cooperate with the JEP about ties between the military, paramilitary groups and drug traffickers throughout Colombia.