Alias Spider, Petro's peace negotiator, charged with 16 murders in Caquetá
Colombia's Public Prosecutor's Office charged Geovany Andrés Rojas, alias Spider, head of the Border Commands and Petro's Total Peace negotiator, with 16 murders.
Charges against alias Spider: 16 murders and drug trafficking charges in Caquetá
The Public Prosecutor's Office charged Geovany Andrés Rojas, known as alias Spider, whom it identifies as the top leader of the Border Commands, an armed structure linked to Farc dissident groups, according to infobae.com. The defendant rejected the charges and was placed under preventive detention in a prison facility.
The alleged crimes occurred between 2020 and 2024 in the department of Caquetá. The 16 victims were recorded in the municipalities of Florencia, La Montañita, El Paujil, Belén de los Andaquíes, Solita, Curillo, San José del Fragua and Albania.
Among the victims are four social leaders, five signatories of the Peace Agreement and seven other people. According to the Public Prosecutor's Office, the organisation allegedly selected targets from those accused of collaborating with other illegal groups or with the authorities.
"Among the victims are four social leaders, who are believed to have been considered an obstacle to the organisation's illegal interests because they opposed the control exercised by the Border Commands in the commercialisation of coca base paste, drug trafficking routes and other illegal economies," said the prosecution.
One of the documented cases occurred on 2 December 2023 in the rural area of Aguas Negras, Solita. Several armed men approached social leader María Isabel Ramos Álzate near the Caquetá river, took her to her home and shot her repeatedly. The Public Prosecutor's Office linked the crime to the group's persecution of leaders who opposed their territorial control.
Another of the charged crimes is the murder of peace signatory Jorge Riaño Ramos, which occurred on 15 November 2020 in the rural area of Santander, Florencia. Riaño Ramos was in his home when he was attacked with rifle bursts.
A prosecutor from the Special Investigation Unit filed charges for conspiracy to commit a crime and murder under aggravating circumstances. The charges also included manufacturing, trafficking, carrying or possessing firearms, accessories, parts or ammunition, as well as the alleged handling of weapons and ammunition for restricted or exclusive military use.
The case file also indicates that alias Spider participated in the talks for the so-called Total Peace promoted by the government of President Gustavo Petro. According to the charges, the crimes attributed to him allegedly occurred whilst the structure maintained conversations with official government representatives.
Rojas was initially arrested for the purpose of extradition to the United States in connection with a drug trafficking case. Following his detention, he was placed at the disposal of Colombian authorities and was transferred to the extraditable prisoners' wing of La Picota prison in southern Bogotá.
Source: Google News BO — La Paz