President Abelardo De La Espriella ordered the transfer of 20 dangerous inmates from a Barranquilla prison to Bogota on Tuesday [1].
The move targets the dismantling of "zones of comfort" and privileges that allow high-risk prisoners to manage criminal operations while incarcerated. By relocating these individuals to maximum-security facilities, the administration aims to sever the links between prison leaders and their active gangs on the street.
The inmates were moved to the La Picota and Cómbita maximum-security prisons in Bogota [2]. De La Espriella said through a post on X that the group included 20 men associated with the Los Pepes and Los Costeños organizations [3].
"Se acabaron los privilegios y la alcahuetería con el crimen," De La Espriella said [1].
Governor Eduardo Verano expressed support for the presidential order, noting the necessity of removing these influential figures from the Atlántico department. "Agradecemos al presidente De La Espriella el traslado de los reclusos a Bogotá," Verano said [4].
The operation is part of a broader effort to harden the Colombian penal system. Officials said that the transfer is intended to end the practice of allowing dangerous inmates to maintain control over their territories from within local jails, a situation that previously allowed them to coordinate crimes with minimal interference.
President De La Espriella has emphasized that the current administration will not tolerate the continued exercise of power by inmates within the prison system [1].
“"Se acabaron los privilegios y la alcahuetería con el crimen"”
This strategic relocation signals a shift toward a more centralized, high-security approach to managing organized crime in Colombia. By moving leaders of gangs like Los Pepes and Los Costeños far from their regional power bases in Barranquilla, the government is attempting to disrupt the command-and-control structures that often persist despite incarceration. The success of this move depends on whether the maximum-security facilities in Bogota can effectively isolate these inmates from their external networks.
