In Cartago, Valle del Cauca, Leovigildo Mosquera, alias “El Loco,” was captured, accused of being the leader of the criminal gang “Los Palmeños” or “Los Zetas.” He would also be responsible for ordering extortion and kidnapping in Chocó and Valle del Cauca.
“It demanded sums ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 pesos from merchants, businessmen, and transporters. It also forced the miners in the area to pay 10 to 12 million pesos in extortion,” said Colonel Giovanni Cristancho, director of the Police Gaula.
On average, ‘El Loco’, considered the most wanted in the department of Chocó with a reward of up to 50 million pesos, ordered the kidnapping of two to three people every month to demand sums of money of up to five billion pesos.
According to the authorities, “El Loco” had under his command one hundred criminals who committed crimes in eight neighborhoods of Quibdó, a city where he was also in charge of arms trafficking, selective homicides, and drug trafficking to Central American countries.
According to the Police Gaula, this man would be responsible for 85% of the homicides that occurred in 2022 in Chocó, generated by settling accounts and confrontations between criminal groups for control of the territory.
Mosquera was part of the 34th front of the extinct FARC guerrilla and has a criminal record for the crime of rebellion, theft, homicide, trafficking and possession of firearms. “To be strong in the area, he seeks alliances with the ELN to have control and confront the Clan del Golfo. He strengthened himself in arms and in criminal capacity, ”detailed Colonel Cristancho.
The head of ‘Los Palmeños’ had evaded the police siege in Chocó, but the authorities captured him in the municipality of Cartago, Valle del Cauca.