The Attorney General’s Office had a structural impact on the criminal organization ‘Los Juanitos’ with the capture and prosecution of five of its alleged members.
Among the defendants are the main articulators of the criminal actions perpetrated in Granada, San Carlos de Guaroa, San Martín and other municipalities of Meta. They are Arnulfo García Sanín, alias Cusumbo, alleged leader in the Ariari subregion; and Leonardo Andrés Giraldo García, alias Cejas, a possible member of the hit man component.
These two people, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, would be responsible for imposing extortion fees on merchants, farmers, businessmen, transporters and social leaders in the eastern part of the country, amid death threats and intimidation of their families. The evidence indicates that “Cusumbo” would also be involved in launching explosive devices against the homes and premises of the victims to force them to comply with the payments.
In the course of the investigation, several criminal events were accredited, such as the one that occurred in October 2022, on a farm in San Martín (Meta). Apparently, alias Cejas gathered merchants, farmers and transporters in a barbecue, and demanded 10 million pesos to buy weapons and medicines, as well as provide them with security in the region.
In December 2022, ‘Los Juanitos’ summoned a social leader to a farm and demanded 10 million pesos, after warning him that they knew that he had received a loan of 4 million dollars from an Arab bank, to develop an agricultural project. in Goal. The threats against the victim increased to the point that he had to abandon his property and go with his family group to another area.
Also read: Captured 12 members of the criminal group Los Juanitos; that offends in the Meta
Due to these facts, a prosecutor from the Specialized Directorate against Criminal Organizations charged alias Cusumbo with the crimes of conspiracy to commit an aggravated crime and attempted extortion; while alias Cejas charged him with the crimes of conspiracy to commit an aggravated crime, forced displacement and extortion.
The defendants who did not accept the charges, by order of the guarantee control judge, were sent to prison.
The other possible members of the ‘Juanitos’ are: Luisa Fernanda Rey Hernández, alias La Gorda, who is credited with identifying and locating the victims, and organizing the meetings in which the money was demanded; Esteban Antonio Trujillo Valencia, aka Pantera; and Dávinson Yohani Cubillos Ciprián, alias Patocho or Patalimpia, who would be part of the assassination and logistics component.
The woman was charged with the crime of aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime, and the two men with the crimes of extortion and forced displacement. The charges were not accepted.
Source: Attorney General’s Office