Has Cali Become an Operational Hub for Mexican Cartels in Colombia?

The extent to which Mexican cartels maintain an active presence in Colombia is again up for debate after the arrest of an alleged top Sinaloa Cartel broker.

Following the arrest of Brian Donaciano Olguín Verdugo, alias “Pitt,” Colombia’s top police officer alleged that Olguín was the “most important link” between the Sinaloa Cartel and dissident fronts of the now-demobilized Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC). Authorities captured Olguín on April 8 at a residence in Ciudad Jardín, a wealthy neighborhood in the southern part of Cali, Colombia’s third-largest city and the capital of Valle del Cauca department.

Colombian National Police Director Jorge Luis Vargas connected Olguín to FARC fronts that operate in the departments of Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Nariño. These fronts are part of the leading faction of the ex-FARC Mafia, led by Miguel Botache Santillana, alias “Gentil Duarte,” and Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, alias “Iván Mordisco.”

Colombian police said that US prosecutors in the Southern District of California have requested the extradition of Olguín on charges that he conspired to import cocaine into the United States in 2014. Despite an Interpol Red Notice, Olguín arrived in Colombia in February. He later travelled to Valle del Cauca to negotiate the purchase of coca with FARC dissidents, according to officials.

The arrest was made in collaboration with US law enforcement.

Olguín reportedly once worked with Joaquín Guzmán Loera, better known as “El Chapo,” the former leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, according to Colombian police. He, however, is part of a string of suspected Mexican drug traffickers to be arrested in Colombia.

In 2019, two Sinaloa Cartel emissaries were arrested within a week of each other, one of whom had links to the dissident FARC 30th Front in Cauca and Valle del Cauca. Suspected members of the Jalisco Cartel New Generation (Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación – CJNG) have also been arrested in Colombia in recent years.

By NC ScoutPublished On: April 21, 2022Categories: AP Staff, Intelligence1 Comment

About the Author: NC Scout

NC Scout is the nom de guerre of a former Infantry Scout and Sergeant in one of the Army’s best Reconnaissance Units. He has combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He teaches a series of courses focusing on small unit skills rarely if ever taught anywhere else in the prepping and survival field, including his RTO Course which focuses on small unit communications. In his free time he is an avid hunter, bushcrafter, writer, long range shooter, prepper, amateur radio operator and Libertarian activist. He can be contacted at [email protected] or via his blog at brushbeater.wordpress.com .

One Comment

Überdeplorable Psychedelic Cat Grass April 21, 2022 at 13:54

It is interesting that the situation has become reversed. It used to be back in the day that the Columbian cartels were paying the Mexicans to move their product into the state. Now it seems like the Mexicans are going right to the source because they have become so powerful.

Sounds like he’s a good catch but unfortunately one of many. I really need to brush up on my accents. Are used to be able to tell where somebody came from in the Spanish-speaking world based on the vocabulary and accent.