Police have arrested the alleged military leader of neo-paramilitary group Urabeños in the northern department of Bolivar, reported local media Sunday.
Authorities managed to detain Tulio Luis Gutierrez, alias “Paquetaco”, in the early hours of Sunday morning, according to Colombian defense minister Juan Carlos Pinzon.
Police intercepted Gutierrez as he was driving along the ‘Troncal de Occidente’ road (see map below), in the municipality of Carmen de Bolivar, Bolivar department. He had an outstanding arrest warrant for aggravated murder.
“Following an investigation, Gutierrez was captured on the roads in the department of Bolivar, fleeing from authorities in the neighboring department of Cordoba,” said Brigadier General Ricardo Ricaurte, the regional police commander.
The “Urabeños,” also known as the “Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia,” are a neo-paramilitary group from the north of Colombia that has violently taken control of the country’s Caribbean coast following the demobilization of the paramilitary AUC.
Colonel Jorge Vargas, the police commander of Bolivar, claimed 97 members of criminal gangs, such as Urabeños have been captured in the northern department so far this year.
