Criminal alliance in Bogotá leaves eight dead and one missing over drug trafficking
The gangs El Mesa and Los del Compa joined forces in 2018 to control drug trafficking in southern Bogotá. The Public Prosecutor's Office captured 33 people implicated.
Two rival gangs reached an agreement to dominate drug trafficking in the south of the capital
According to semana.com, the criminal organisations El Mesa—originally from Antioquia—and Los del Compa sealed an alliance in 2018 to contest control of drug trafficking in Bogotá. What had previously been rival groups clashing with each other became a joint structure operating under the name Puentes II.
The Public Prosecutor's Office described the agreement in precise terms: "Two criminal groups that had previously disputed drug trafficking revenues would have consolidated a criminal alliance that, under the name Puentes II, generated a wave of violence that left eight people dead and one more missing in a year in Rafael Uribe Uribe and other areas of southern Bogotá".
The operational scheme divided responsibilities between both organisations. One was responsible for storing, distributing and trafficking drugs; the other eliminated the competition through hired assassinations.
Southern Bogotá neighbourhoods as the main scene of operations
The alliance's activities concentrated in the neighbourhoods of Puentes, La Torre, La Finca, El Portal and El Valle. In those sectors, the gang leaders distributed functions among the members of the structure. The Public Prosecutor's Office noted that the organisation used minors to both carry out murders and to alert about the presence of authorities.
"In these sectors, some of its members managed the retail sale of drugs in academic settings, parks and places with high foot traffic, using minors to evade actions by the authorities; and others monitored, coordinated logistics or participated in armed attacks with firearms," the prosecution stated.
Eight homicides and one disappearance documented
Among the recorded incidents is the murder of a woman in the Diana Turbay neighbourhood on 1 February. To that case are added the death of a young man whose body was found in a wooded area of the San Martín sector in April, a double homicide in Molinos that same month, and the murder of a taxi driver in August.
The Public Prosecutor's Office also documented the disappearance of a man in October 2024. The victim was summoned by members of the organisation under the pretext that he supposedly knew the location of several doses of illicit substances that had gone missing; since then his whereabouts have been unknown.
33 arrested on charges of criminal association and aggravated homicide
The Public Prosecutor's Office reported that 33 people were arrested or notified of proceedings against them, some of whom were already deprived of liberty. Those charged face charges of aggravated criminal association, aggravated homicide, forced disappearance, trafficking, manufacturing or carrying of drugs, and manufacturing, trafficking, carrying or possession of firearms, accessories, parts or ammunition, according to the individual responsibility of each.
An additional element drew attention in the case: the main leader of the El Mesa organisation had participated in urban peace dialogues promoted by the Petro government and had received benefits in the detention centres where he was serving his sentence.
Source: Google News CO — Bogotá