migrant Smuggling Ring Busted in Colombia: Five Arrested in Joint Operation
Medellín, colombia – A criminal network allegedly responsible for trafficking migrants through Colombia has been dismantled following a joint operation by the Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Five individuals were arrested in Medellín, Cali, and Palmira, and charged with migrant trafficking.
The arrests – Alejandra García Arboleda, José Alonso Jaramillo Estrella, Hernando Muñoz Patiño, Jorge Eliecer Álvarez, and Héctor Fabio Chalarca Castrillón – come after a two-year investigation revealed the group transported at least 114 migrants through the country, utilizing both tourism and public service buses.
Migrants from Pakistan, Nepal, Togo, Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, Congo, Cameroon, Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Haiti, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic reportedly entered Brazil before crossing the river border into Nariño, Colombia. There, they were allegedly contacted by members of the criminal network who offered transport too the Urabá region.
According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Álvarez and Chalarca Castrillón were responsible for securing the buses and coordinating travel routes. Muñoz Patiño and Jaramillo Estrella, both professional drivers – one in intermunicipal transport and the other in special service – allegedly facilitated the migrants’ travel on their vehicles. García Arboleda is accused of managing the logistics of the tours, specifically to prevent migrants from interacting with outsiders or leaving the buses.
All five defendants were presented to a Judge of Control Guarantees in Medellín and have been remanded to custody pending trial after declining to accept the charges.
this operation highlights increased cooperation between Colombian authorities and U.S. agencies to combat human smuggling.