The Espartanos are one of two criminal gangs operating in Buenaventura, Valle del Cauca, a city home to Colombia’s main Pacific port. In recent years, they have been in a violent war with the Shottas, the city’s other major criminal group, with whom they compete for control of the municipality’s criminal economies, mainly drug trafficking, small-scale drug trafficking, and extortion.

Recent News About the Espartanos

April 6, 2026 — Espartanos Leader Captured in Bolivia

Espartanos leader Jorge Isaac Campaz Jiménez, alias “Mapaya,” was captured on the outskirts of Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Ten other Colombians and two Bolivians were also arrested during the operation, following a shootout with authorities. Mapaya’s capture highlighted the transnational expansion of Buenaventura’s gangs and their possible links to cocaine routes toward Brazil and Chile.

In this profile

What Is the History of the Espartanos?

The origins of the Espartanos date back to the late 1990s. The Calima Bloc, a paramilitary group belonging to the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC), arrived in Buenaventura hoping to expel the 30th Front of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC), which had maintained an armed presence in the municipality’s rural areas since the late 1990s.

The paramilitaries maintained a largely urban presence and began recruiting young people from vulnerable neighborhoods, increasing violence and extortion in the city.

After the AUC demobilized in 2006, some members of the Calima Bloc continued their criminal activities. Among them was the Bustamante family clan, which created the Empresa, a gang that would dominate the city’s criminal landscape for the next decade. The Bustamantes took control of drug trafficking routes throughout, expanded extortion networks to finance the Empresa, and carried out kidnappings and disappearances.

The Bustamantes eventually left the Empresa and created a new group known as the Local, which was already on the radar of the authorities by 2016. After several waves of arrests, Diego Bustamante, alias “Diego Optra,” took control of the Local in April 2019. But his leadership proved controversial within the organization.

In December 2020, an internal split in the Local led to the formation of two rival gangs competing for control of Buenaventura: the Espartanos and the Shottas. As these factions clashed for control of the city’s neighborhoods, the phenomenon of “invisible borders” emerged: divisions between areas controlled by opposing gangs that severely restricted residents’ movement.

Gang violence and frequent shootouts led to informal curfews. Residents of neighborhoods with a strong gang presence rarely left their homes after sunset to avoid getting caught in the crossfire, while schools were forced to adjust their schedules to ensure students could return home before the curfew began.

In October 2022, the two gangs agreed to a truce after entering negotiations with the government as part of President Gustavo Petro’s Total Peace (Paz Total) policy, which sought to negotiate demobilization agreements with the country’s main armed groups and criminal gangs. The pact led to 92 consecutive days without a single murder in Buenaventura, a drastic reduction in violence. Since then, the groups have extended the agreement on multiple occasions, and homicides fell by 16%, from 60 to 50, between June 2023 and June 2024.

But the decline in violence did not coincide with a decline in criminal profits. Drug trafficking is the backbone of the Espartanos’ operations and their main source of income. Both the Espartanos and the Shottas provide security for drug shipments moving through Buenaventura’s ports and estuaries. The city’s wetlands and river-adjacent swamps form a network of waterways used by locals for transport, which the gangs exploit to move drugs toward the open sea.

Their criminal activities have expanded beyond drug trafficking. Although extortion of small businesses has long been common in the port city, both the Espartanos and the Shottas have gone beyond the simple schemes of their predecessors, developing more sophisticated methods to maximize profits. Since at least 2022, the groups have infiltrated the entire food supply chain in Buenaventura’s urban area, controlling everything from wholesale purchases to price-setting.

The relative calm that had existed in the city since the beginning of the gang truce was interrupted in January 2025, with 17 killings in the first month of the year. In February 2025, the Espartanos left the dialogue table after the government issued an arrest warrant for the group’s spokesperson in the negotiations. The gangs refused to renew the truce, citing the government’s lack of interest in making significant progress in the talks. Although the nonaggression agreement resumed months later, violence in the municipality has continued to fluctuate.

Who Are the Leaders of the Espartanos?

Jorge Isaac Campaz Jiménez, alias “Mapaya,” was the top leader of the Espartanos until April 6, 2026, when he was captured by Bolivian authorities on the outskirts of Santa Cruz. Mapaya has led the group since it emerged, but following his capture, it is unclear who will take command, although it is possible he could continue leading from prison.

Where Do the Espartanos Operate?

The city of Buenaventura is divided into two parts: the island and the mainland. The Espartanos control the island, which includes districts 1 to 5. This area is strategically advantageous because of its proximity to most of the city’s ports and higher-income businesses, including the city center and shopping malls. Although the Espartanos also have a presence in some mainland districts, the Shottas dominate there.

Both groups compete for control of territories that are strategic for drug trafficking, including neighborhoods with warehouses where traffickers contaminate containers with cocaine, as well as estuaries that serve as departure points for drug-laden speedboats. They charge “taxes” to independent drug trafficking networks that use routes within their territories and provide “protection services” to facilitate the movement of drugs through Buenaventura’s urban area.

In addition to Colombia, Espartanos cells have been identified in Chile, in cities such as Santiago, where they run extortion, “gota a gota” loan sharking, and small-scale drug trafficking operations.

Who Are the Espartanos’ Allies and Enemies?

The Espartanos’ main rivals are the Shottas. However, Buenaventura’s criminal landscape has become more complex as other criminal actors have established a presence, influencing the balance of power between the two gangs.

Since 2023, the Espartanos have maintained an alliance with the Chiquillos, a remnant faction of the Empresa, in their fight against the Shottas. 

Larger criminal actors have also entered the dispute. Since 2022, the Jaime Martínez Front of the Central General Staff (Estado Mayor Central – EMC), a federation of FARC dissident fronts, has expanded to the outskirts of Buenaventura’s urban area, particularly District 12, a Shottas stronghold.

As a result, the Jaime Martínez Front has allied with the Espartanos in its fight against the Shottas in these areas. In response, the Shottas have forged an alliance with the National Liberation Army (Ejército de Liberación Nacional – ELN), which operates in rural areas of northern Buenaventura but can access the urban area through District 12.

However, these alliances remain highly volatile, driven by shifting interests and short-term strategic gains.

What Is the Outlook for the Espartanos?

While Mapaya’s capture represents a significant blow to the Espartanos, it is unlikely to lead to the group’s dissolution. These types of structures have proven able to adapt to the capture of their leaders, who may even continue exercising power from prison through mid-level commanders.

However, this capture, combined with the February 2026 arrest of Diego Bustamante, alias “Diego Optra,” the main leader of the Shottas, could generate a period of instability in Buenaventura’s criminal landscape, potentially leading to an increase in violence.