HomeNewsBriefColombia Captures Gaitanistas Gang Boss
BRIEF

Colombia Captures Gaitanistas Gang Boss

COLOMBIA / 10 JUN 2011 BY HANNAH STONE EN

Colombia's police arrested a boss of the Gaitanistas drug gang, who ran operations in the northeast region of La Guajira.

Rodrigo Antonio Oquendo Urrego, alias "Rigo" or "Uber," was captured in the central Antioquia department. He was a member of paramilitary organization the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC's) Northern Bloc before demobilizing.

Oquendo was considered to be a close associate of the Usuga brothers who head the Gaitanistas gang; Juan de Dios, alias "Giovanni," and Dario Antonio.

Police said Oquendo managed extortion, assassinations and drug trafficking operations in the strategic region, which is bordered by Venezuela and the Caribbean sea.

See InSight's map of the dynamics of the conflict in La Guajira here.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 24 NOV 2022

Migrants crossing the Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama face extortion, rape, violence, and being forced to carry drugs.

COLOMBIA / 26 OCT 2022

The ELN plays a continuing role in facilitating large-scale cattle smuggling between Colombia and Venezuela.

COCAINE / 14 OCT 2022

Ecuador continues to regularly find caches of weaponry belonging to Colombian guerrilla groups, including land mines and hand grenades.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…