The Colombian president, Abelardo de la Espriella, communicated this Thursday the arrest of alias 'Comandante 7', whom he defined as a "criminal dynamizer" of the organization Los Tiguerones "between Colombia and Ecuador". The arrest took place in a municipality near Bogotá, the capital of the country, with the purpose of his subsequent extradition.
De la Espriella emphasized the scope of the operation by stating: "Alias 'Comandante 7' has fallen, a high-value target of Ecuador", detailing that the arrest "for extradition purposes" of Guido Fernando Rodríguez Vargas took place in the municipality of Soacha, thanks to an operation by the National Police coordinated with the National Intelligence Center of Ecuador.
According to the president, the detainee "was one of the main cross-border links, responsible for managing illicit revenues for the logistical and military support of the organization in Esmeraldas --Ecuadorian city-- and Nariño --department of Colombia bordering Ecuador--". In addition, the Latin American leader added that he is attributed with an alleged participation in a "network for laundering assets from drug trafficking and extortion".
Rodríguez Vargas was also subject to an arrest warrant in Ecuador and was being sought through a red notice from Interpol for the crimes of homicide and organized crime.
The announcement from the new head of the Colombian Executive coincides with the week in which the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, declared Los Tiguerones as a terrorist organization, describing it as "violent and bloodthirsty".