All About Colombia Mafia

COLOMBIA

EPL

COLOMBIA GROUPS / 23 APR 2021

The EPL, also called the Pelusos, were once a major criminal threat in Colombia but have faded in recent years after losing key territory.

COLOMBIA / JANUARY 18, 2019

Walter Patricio Arizala, alias “Guacho,” was one of the most wanted criminals in both Colombia and Ecuador, after military forces made him a priority target. Guacho led the dissident members…

COCAINE / 17 DEC 2018

In early December, authorities dramatically curtailed the power of the Pelle-Vottari clan -  a grouping within the formidable ‘Ndrangheta mafia — arresting Domenico Pelle along with 89 others associated with…

COLOMBIA / 3 OCT 2018

A series of attacks on multinational companies operating in Colombia could indicate that armed groups are shedding discipline for increased criminal gains, in a new era of organized crime in…

COLOMBIA / 30 MAR 2018

With the death of “El Indio,” the Urabeños’ third-in-command, Colombian security forces have dealt another blow to the most powerful drug trafficking organization in the country, a sign that authorities…

COLOMBIA / 13 MAR 2018

The Colombian mafia comprises networks of localized and shadowy groups and figures involved in illicit economies.

COCAINE EUROPE / 12 MAR 2018

Authorities in Spain have arrested a Colombian with celebrity connections on accusations that he used his jet-set lifestyle as cover for his role as the leader of an international drug…

COLOMBIA MAFIA / MAY 10, 2019

José Bayron Piedrahita Ceballos is presumed to be one of the biggest drug lords in Colombia. During his criminal career spanning more than 20 years, Piedrahita managed to stay out…

COLECTIVOS / 29 JAN 2018

Venezuela’s continued spiral into economic, political and social crisis and the demobilization of Colombia’s largest guerrilla group have shifted criminal dynamics on the Colombia-Venezuela border, transforming the region into…

COLOMBIA / 16 JAN 2018

Has Colombia's FARC really left the country's criminal scene? Yes, and absolutely not. The rebel army is gone, and has become a political party. The FARC Mafia is just coming…

COLOMBIA / DECEMBER 7, 2018

Óscar Mauricio Pachón, alias “Puntilla,” was a drug trafficker who controlled a criminal network in Colombia’s strategic Eastern Plains.

COLOMBIA GROUPS / NOVEMBER 8, 2022

The AGC emerged from the ashes of Colombia’s paramilitary movement to become a dominant but fragmented criminal force.

COLOMBIA GROUPS / OCTOBER 28, 2020

The Oficina de Envigado has evolved from Pablo Escobar's debt collection agency to a complex criminal actor in Medellín.

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Contributes Expertise Across the Board 

22 SEP 2023

This week InSight Crime investigators Sara García and María Fernanda Ramírez led a discussion of the challenges posed by Colombian President Gustavo Petro’s “Total Peace” plan within urban contexts. The…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in New Colombia Drug Policy Plan

15 SEP 2023

InSight Crime’s work on emerging coca cultivation in Honduras, Guatemala, and Venezuela was cited in the Colombian government’s…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Discusses Honduran Women's Prison Investigation

8 SEP 2023

Investigators Victoria Dittmar and María Fernanda Ramírez discussed InSight Crime’s recent investigation of a massacre in Honduras’ only women’s prison in a Twitter Spaces event on…

THE ORGANIZATION

Human Trafficking Investigation Published in Leading Mexican Newspaper

1 SEP 2023

Leading Mexican media outlet El Universal featured our most recent investigation, “The Geography of Human Trafficking on the US-Mexico Border,” on the front page of its August 30…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Coverage of Ecuador Leads International Debate

25 AUG 2023

This week, Jeremy McDermott, co-director of InSight Crime, was interviewed by La Sexta, a Spanish television channel, about the situation of extreme violence and insecurity in Ecuador…