Alias' Matamba ': the drug trafficker who lost himself from a prison in Bogotá and was found drunk in another cell

Juan Larinson Castro Estupiñán, alias' Matamba ', was given for a few minutes as one of the most dangerous escapees in the history of La Picota prison, in southeastern Bogotá. The one captured as part of the organized armed group Gulf Clan, which operates crucial routes for the export of cocaine from the Colombian Pacific coast, did not appear in the daily count of prisoners in its flag, called “of the extraditable”.

The alarm that caused the disappearance of Castro Estupiñán was a major one. The Minister of Justice, Wilson Ruiz, himself ordered special surveillance to explain why 'Matamba' had disappeared from his cell. When checking the rest of the prison, the answer was clear: the prisoner was found in another of the prison wards, quietly passing the effects of the alcohol he had allegedly consumed the night before.

It should be noted that, against him, the United States made an extradition request after his capture in May 2021, since this drug trafficker operated the most important drug trafficking routes in Tumaco, Nariño, commanding the group 'The Southern Cordillera'. Juan Larinson Castro became a main ally of Darío Antonio Úsuga David alias' Otoniel ', in the territorial control of much of the Colombian Pacific.

As such, it dominated the actions of the Gulf Clan in areas such as Rosario, Leiva, Policarpa and Cumbitara (Nariño). In these municipalities, he coordinated the transport of cocaine hydrochloride that was grown to take it to the Pacific coasts in Colombia and Ecuador, from where the drugs are transported to Mexico for the Sinaloa cartel 'Nueva Generación' and its subsequent sale in North America.

Castro went through all the armed groups existing in the history of the Colombian conflict. In 1997 he was part of the FARC, but he was ordered to be shot for insubordination. Then, in 2003, he was captured as part of a paramilitary group and achieved his demobilization in 2005, within the framework of the Justice and Peace agreements of then-President Álvaro Uribe Vélez. Like many of these demobilized, he returned to illegality and in 2016 he was again captured, following an ambush in Nariño.

After this capture, 'Matamba' managed to escape: he negotiated his freedom with the Prosecutor's Office, and disappeared. Only until May last year, when he was arrested in full celebration of his birthday, was he returned to the authorities and taken to La Picota.

One of Colombia's leading prison centers, La Picota maximum security prison has been in the eye of the hurricane in recent weeks. Dozens of drug traffickers and leaders of armed groups are detained in its “extraditable” wing, who have been requested by US judges and are awaiting their extradition process. There are also politicians, businessmen and other high-level captures in their cells.

Despite this, a television report by Noticias Caracol found irregularities with one of the prisoners, Carlos Mattos. The businessman, convicted of bribing judges in the midst of a dispute over the import rights of Hyundai cars in Colombia, reportedly managed to leave his detention center under the excuse of attending medical appointments, but in which he resulted in his office meeting with his lawyers irregularly.

Due to these allegations, President Iván Duque ordered the dismissal of the director of the Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC), Major General Mariano Botero Coy, and the prison director, Wilmer Valencia.

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