Colombia's New President, 'El Tigre,' Claims 32,000 Arrests in Ten Weeks as He Joins Trump's Anti-Cartel Coalition
Abelardo de la Espriella has ended his predecessor's peace talks, sent gang bosses to U.S. custody and brought Bogota into the Shield of the Americas. His vice president says U.S. troops will not lead operations on Colombian soil.
Colombia's new president is going after the cartels in person and in lockstep with Washington, Fox News reports.
The raid. President Abelardo de la Espriella, known as "El Tigre," showed up at the Barranquilla police command before dawn as 587 police officers and soldiers raided 50 locations in Operation Blindaje 360. Days earlier, Colombian police had intercepted a recording of a gang leader known as "Keko" of "Los del Freseo," who allegedly said, "The Tiger's got nothing. Let him come out, and we'll put lead in him." Fox says the president then confronted Keko face to face on video released by his office. The sweep ended with 72 arrests.
The numbers. In an Oct. 12 address, de la Espriella put his government's tally at 32,503 arrests, 33 ringleaders taken out of action and 679 drug-production sites destroyed or disabled. Fox says he has signed more than 100 extradition orders, including five for former armed-group peace negotiators wanted in the U.S. whose handovers the previous government had frozen. Those figures are the president's own.
The break with Petro. Fox says he took office Aug. 7, scrapped former President Gustavo Petro's "total peace" talks, ordered every armed group treated as a terrorist organization and brought Colombia into President Trump's anti-cartel coalition. Last month he handed a guerrilla boss alias "Araña," accused of supplying Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, to DEA agents. The man faces narco-terrorism charges in Southern California.
The U.S. link. Colombia became the 19th member of the Shield of the Americas in August, and War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Bogota had authorized "joint military operations to destroy terrorists and terror networks domestically." The administration has pledged $1 billion in security aid, pending congressional approval.
The limit. Colombian Vice President Jose Manuel Restrepo told Fox News Digital that Colombian troops, not American forces, will carry out operations against the country's armed groups.
What to keep in mind. Fox notes the offensive has coincided with violence: conflict monitor ACLED counted August as the deadliest month for clashes between security forces and armed groups since it began tracking Colombia in 2018. The $1 billion in aid is a pledge that still needs Congress.