Killed: "Bendito Menor", head of Los Pachenca in La Guajira, aged 26
Naín Andrés Pérez Toncel, alias "Bendito Menor", died in a police operation in Riohacha. He commanded 170 armed men and was wanted by Interpol.
From hitman to criminal chief: the rise and fall of "Bendito Menor" in La Guajira
Naín Andrés Pérez Toncel, alias "Bendito Menor", died on Thursday night during a police operation in Riohacha. He was 26 years old and was the commander of the Javier Cáceres front of the criminal organisation known as Los Pachenca, or Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN), according to elcolombiano.com.
His death, confirmed hours after the operation, was received as a relief by communities in La Guajira, which he kept under control through homicides, extortion and kidnappings.
Entry into crime at age 19
According to judicial sources cited by elcolombiano.com, Pérez Toncel joined Los Pachenca at the age of 19 as a hitman. The organisation, which originated in Santa Marta, had begun in 2020 an expansion towards La Guajira and Cesar, disputing drug trafficking and extortion territories from the Clan del Golfo.
Following the death in 2019 of its founder, Jesús María Aguirre, alias "Chucho Mercancía", the group adopted the name ACSN and moved from being an urban gang to a structure with rural presence and transnational networks in the Caribbean.
In that context of violence against the Clan del Golfo, "Bendito Menor" gained notoriety for several murders that earned him recognition in the underworld. This allowed him access to the security circle of the organisation's top leaders at the time: brothers Carmen Evelio, Fredy and Danilo Castillo Carrillo, known as "Muñeca", "Pinocho" and "Menor".
Rapid rise following the fall of ringleaders
The authorities systematically eliminated the organisation's leaders one by one, which opened the way for mid-level commanders such as "Bendito Menor" to climb positions. In 2024, the military chief of the structure, José Pérez Villanueva, alias "Cholo", entrusted him with control of operations in La Guajira, especially in Riohacha, Albania and Maicao.
He took charge of the Javier Cáceres front with 170 armed men, who operated on two simultaneous fronts: against the Clan del Golfo and against a local faction called "los Jota Jota".
The authorities attribute to him massacres, kidnappings and extortion that led to the bankruptcy of various commercial establishments, in addition to the forced displacement of 80 families. To drug traffickers who wanted to move cocaine through the beaches and ports of La Guajira, he charged 100 dollars per kilogramme in custody and 500 dollars per shipment in speedboats.
The Dijín reported that "he was wanted by Interpol Red Notice and had five arrest warrants for aggravated homicide, kidnapping, extortion and aggravated criminal conspiracy". Among the crimes on his record is "the kidnapping, torture, homicide and subsequent dismemberment of a minor aged 16 of Venezuelan nationality, which occurred in December 2025".
The mafia influencer on TikTok
Alongside his criminal rise, "Bendito Menor" and his partner, Rosa Angélica Tarazona, alias "la Bebecita", built an active presence on social media. They opened accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok with thousands of followers, where they displayed camouflaged clothing, short and long-range automatic weapons, high-end vehicles and fine spirits.
They organised motorcycle convoys along major roads in La Guajira and Magdalena, in open provocation of the authorities. They also financed parties with DJs, vallenato singers and companions, restricted to band members and invitees.
The negotiator status and the challenge to the elected government
In 2025, President Gustavo Petro granted "Bendito Menor" the status of peace negotiator in the framework of approaches to establish a table of socio-legal dialogues with Los Pachenca, which entailed the suspension of the arrest warrants in force against him. The Petro government concluded without that negotiation being realised.
On 9 July, the president-elect Abelardo de la Espriella declared him a military objective. The response of "Bendito Menor" was a video published on social media in which he appeared performing tricks on a high-displacement motorcycle on a road facing the sea, in Upper Guajira, accompanied by the message: "My homeland goes beyond mere words, because my homeland is my signature".
Days later he published photographs wearing a white T-shirt with red lettering that said "anti Abelardo", and a video mocking the footballs that De la Espriella handed out to children affected by the earthquake of 10 August.
Death at age 26
The operation that ended his life took place in Riohacha. "La Bebecita", his partner, also died alongside him, according to additional information from elcolombiano.com. His trajectory—from hitman to regional chief in less than a decade—illustrates the speed with which violence and the power vacuum in criminal structures can propel young individuals to command positions in Colombia.
Source: Google News CO — Crime