HomeNewsBriefMassacre Highlights Colombia BACRIM Cross-Border Operations
BRIEF

Massacre Highlights Colombia BACRIM Cross-Border Operations

COLOMBIA / 18 MAR 2014 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

The massacre of five men from Colombia just across the border in Venezuela's Tachira state has drawn attention to the cross-border operations of criminal groups the Rastrojos and the Urabeños, which allegedly hide their victims' bodies in mass graves, and train recruits on the Venezuelan side.

On March 7, an armed group shot and killed five men from the east Colombian town of Cucuta. According to the sole survivor of the incident, Alexis Daniel Baldriche Contreras, the Colombians were approached by a "pimpinero" -- a Venezuelan vendor of contraband gasoline -- while swimming in the Tachira River, which marks the border with Venezuela, reported El Espectador. The pimpinero claimed they had robbed him, and forced them across the border, where other attackers arrived saying they were "Urabeños Fronterizos" (Border Urabeños) members.

The men were tied up and forced to dig their own graves, said Baldriche, who managed to flee from the scene. He later returned to show the families of the dead men where the bodies lay.

Cucuta locals said they found more holes in the area, indicating the presence of mass graves, in which they believe Colombians who have disappeared are buried, reported Caracol (see video).

Wilfredo Cañizares, director of a local NGO, said the BACRIM (from the abbreviation of the Spanish for "criminal bands") run arms training camps for Colombian youth in the Venezuelan municipality of Ureña. The youths are later provided Venezuelan identification, he added.

The area ombudsman said youth are forcibly recruited by these groups in Cucuta neighborhoods.

InSight Crime Analysis

A BACRIM presence has been documented in Tachira state since at least 2008. The Aguilas Negras were the first group to move in, but the region quickly became the domain of the Rastrojos.

When the Rastrojos national strength began to decline, the Urabeños established a significant presence there, as evidenced by the discovery of two alleged Urabeños camps in Tachira and the arrest of three Venezuelans accused of belonging to the group in 2013. 

SEE ALSO: BACRIM in Venezuela Profile

Given this context, it is entirely possible such groups are recruiting youth and training them across the border. The BACRIM are also known to be involved in the regional contraband gasoline trade, making Baldriche's account of the massacre feasible as well.

Claims of mass graves cast doubt on the 2013 reports of a approximately 23 percent drop in murders in Cucuta. According to forensics institute Medicina Legal, 113 people have been reported disappeared in Cucuta in 2013 and 2014.

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

BRAZIL / 28 DEC 2021

There was record destruction of the Amazon in 2020, as the rainforest lost an area around the size of Belize,…

COLOMBIA / 9 DEC 2021

Colombian media has reported that top ex-FARC commanders El Paisa and Romaña have been shot dead in Venezuela, making them…

CARTEL OF THE SUNS / 2 MAY 2022

On April 3, 2021, police in the east Venezuelan state of Anzoátegui acted on a tip-off to intercept a silver…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

All Eyes on Ecuador

2 JUN 2023

Our coverage of organized crime in Ecuador continues to be a valuable resource for international and local news outlets. Internationally, Reuters cited our 2022 Homicide Round-Up,…

WORK WITH US

Open Position: Social Media and Engagement Strategist

27 MAY 2023

InSight Crime is looking for a Social Media and Engagement Strategist who will be focused on maintaining and improving InSight Crime’s reputation and interaction with its audiences through publishing activities…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

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.