President Abelardo de la Espriella ordered the transfer of 20 prisoners from Barranquilla to prisons in Bogota this month [1].
The move targets high-profile gang members to disrupt the ability of criminal organizations to coordinate extortion and violence from within the prison system.
The administration is focusing on members of the Los Pepes and Los Costeños gangs [2]. By removing these individuals from their regional power bases in Barranquilla, the government aims to sever the communication lines used to direct street-level crime [3].
"Desde las cárceles no se dirige el crimen," de la Espriella said [4].
This operation is part of a broader strategy to overhaul the penitentiary system. Since the start of the current administration, the government has carried out more than 400 prisoner transfers [5]. These shifts are intended to break up established gang hierarchies that often maintain control over specific prison wings.
A spokesperson for the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) said the transfer will be conducted with "rigurosas, máximas y extremas medidas de seguridad" [6].
The relocation of these 20 inmates [1] represents a tactical shift in how the Colombian government handles organized crime leaders. By placing them in the capital, the administration seeks to isolate them from their local networks in the coastal region, a move designed to lower the rate of extortion in Barranquilla.
“"Desde las cárceles no se dirige el crimen"”
The strategic relocation of gang leaders from regional hubs to the capital suggests a policy of systemic isolation. By dismantling the localized command structures of groups like Los Pepes and Los Costeños, the administration is attempting to prove that prison walls cannot be used as operational headquarters for urban extortion.
