| Wilver Villegas-Palomino | |
|---|---|
 | |
| FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitive | |
| Charges |
|
| Reward | $5,000,000 |
| Alias | Carlos El Puerco [1] |
| Description | |
| Born | October 21, 1981 Curumaní, Colombia |
| Nationality | Colombian |
| Gender | Male |
| Status | |
| Added | April 14, 2023 |
| Number | 530 |
| Currently a Top Ten Fugitive | |
Wilver Villegas-Palomino (born October 21, 1981) is a Colombian narcoterrorist who is currently the leader of the National Liberation Army and one of the people listed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. [2]
Palomino was considered a leader of the National Liberation Army in Colombia, [3] he was also known to help traffic cocaine into the United States, which the United States deemed as narcoterrorism since it funded a terrorist organization through the selling of substances. [4]
On February 12, 2020, Palomino was indicted on charges of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine and international distribution of cocaine by the Southern District of Texas. [5] On September 21, 2020, the United States offered US$5 million for any information leading to his arrest. [6]
On April 14, 2023, Palomino was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, replacing Rafael Caro Quintero. [7]
Narcoterrorism, in its original context, is understood to refer to the attempts of narcotics traffickers to influence the policies of a government or a society through violence and intimidation, and to hinder the enforcement of anti-drug laws by the systematic threat or use of such violence. As with most definitions of terrorism, it typically only refers to non-state actors.
The FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives is a most wanted list maintained by the United States's Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The list arose from a conversation held in late 1949 between J. Edgar Hoover, Director of the FBI, and William Kinsey Hutchinson, International News Service editor-in-chief, who were discussing ways to promote capture of the FBI's "toughest guys". This discussion turned into a published article, which received so much positive publicity that on March 14, 1950, the FBI officially announced the list to increase law enforcement's ability to capture dangerous fugitives. The first person added to the list was Thomas J. Holden, a robber and member of the Holden–Keating Gang on the day of the list's inception.
Ismael Mario Zambada García is a Mexican drug lord, co-founder and current top leader of the Sinaloa Cartel, an international crime syndicate based in Sinaloa. Before he assumed leadership of the entire cartel, he allegedly served as the logistical coordinator for its Guzmán-Zambada organization, which has overseen the trafficking of cocaine and heroin into Chicago and other US cities by aircraft, narcosubs, container ships, go-fast boats, fishing vessels, buses, rail cars, tractor trailers, and automobiles. As of 2024, he has never been arrested or incarcerated and is the single last remaining fugitive on the list of Mexico's 37 most-wanted drug lords.
The National Liberation Army is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla insurgency group involved in the continuing Colombian conflict, which has existed in Colombia since 1964. The ELN advocates a composite communist ideology of Marxism-Leninism and liberation theology. In 2013, it was estimated that the ELN forces consisted of between 1,380 and 3,000 guerrillas. According to former ELN national directorate member Felipe Torres, one fifth of ELN supporters have taken up arms. The ELN has been classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of Colombia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and the European Union.
The Norte del Valle Cartel, or North Valley Cartel, was a drug cartel that operated principally in the north of the Valle del Cauca department of Colombia, most notably the coastal city of Buenaventura. It rose to prominence during the 1990s, after the Cali and Medellín Cartels fragmented, and it was known as one of the most powerful organizations in the illegal drug trade. The drug cartel was led by the brothers Luis Enrique and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias "Los Comba", until its takedown in 2008 by the authorities of Colombia and Venezuela, with cooperation of the United States DEA.
Diego León Montoya Sánchez, also known as Don Diego, is a Colombian former crime boss and leader of the Norte del Valle drug cartel. On October 25, 2002, Montoya was listed as a Specially Designated Narcotics Trafficker on the United States Department of Treasury's Specially Designated National List.
This is a timeline of events related to the Colombian armed conflict.
Carlos Mario Jiménez Naranjo aka "Macaco" is a Colombian former drug lord and paramilitary leader. Jimenez was a member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group which demobilized between 2005 and 2007. Jimenez ordered the assassination of numerous people in the region of the Santander and North Santander specially in the city of Barrancabermeja where his organization confronted and defeated the National Liberation Army (ELN) for the control of the territory. Jimenez was the commander in chief of the Central Bolívar Bloc of the AUC.
Gerardo Aguilar Ramírez, known by his nom de guerreCésar, was a Colombian guerrilla leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He was the commander of the Eastern Bloc's 1st Front. For five years he was in charge of FARC's hostages, including former presidential candidate Íngrid Betancourt.
Óscar Omar Treviño Morales is a Mexican convicted drug lord and former leader of Los Zetas, a criminal organization. He was one of Mexico's most-wanted drug lords. His brother is Miguel Treviño Morales, a former leader of the group. The authorities believe he was the successor of his brother, who was arrested on July 15, 2013.
Los Rastrojos is a Colombian drug cartel and paramilitary group engaged in the Colombian armed conflict. The group was formed by Norte del Valle cartel capo Wilber Varela, alias "Jabon" and one of his right-hand men, "Diego Rastrojo", around 2004 when Varela fell out with fellow-capo Diego Leon Montoya, alias "Don Diego". The group became independent after the murder of its main founder in Venezuela in 2008 and at its height was one of the most important drug trafficking organizations in Colombia.
The Clan del Golfo, also known as Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia and formerly called Los Urabeños and Clan Úsuga, is a prominent Colombian neo-paramilitary group and currently the country's largest drug cartel.
The Cartel of the Suns is a Venezuelan organization supposedly headed by high-ranking members of the Armed Forces of Venezuela who are involved in international drug trade. According to Héctor Landaeta, journalist and author of Chavismo, Narco-trafficking and the Military, the phenomenon began when Colombian drugs began to enter into Venezuela from corrupt border units and the "rot moved its way up the ranks."
Terrorism in Colombia has occurred repeatedly during the last several decades, largely due to the ongoing armed conflict the country has been involved in since 1964. Perpetrators of terrorist acts in the country range from leftist guerilla forces including FARC, ELN and M-19, to drug cartels such as the Medellín Cartel, to right-wing paramilitary forces including the AUC.
On 17 January 2019, a vehicle was driven into the General Santander National Police Academy in Bogotá, Colombia. The truck forced its way into the facility, hit a wall and detonated, killing 22 people and injuring 68 others. Suicide attacks are unusual in Colombia. The car contained about 80 kilograms (180 lb) of pentolite. It was the deadliest attack on the Colombian capital since the 2003 El Nogal Club bombing and the first terrorist attack on the capital since the 2017 Centro Andino bombing. The National Liberation Army (ELN) accepted responsibility for the attack and justified it as a response to the bombings made by the Colombian government during the unilateral ceasefire.
Gilberto Barragán Balderas is a Mexican suspected drug lord and high-ranking member of the Gulf Cartel, a criminal group based in Tamaulipas, Mexico. He joined the cartel in the late 1990s and was a trusted enforcer of kingpin Jorge Eduardo Costilla Sánchez. Barragán Balderas was the regional boss of Miguel Alemán and helped coordinate international drug trafficking shipments from South and Central America to Mexico and the U.S. His role in the cartel also included providing them with information on the movement and location of Mexican security forces to ensure safe passage of their cocaine and marijuana shipments. In 2008, an indictment issued by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia detailing his criminal activities was unsealed in court.
The FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives during the 2020s is a list, maintained for an eighth decade, of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation. At any given time, the FBI is actively searching for 12,000 fugitives. As of November 15, 2023, nine new fugitives have been added to the list.
Events in the year 2021 in Colombia.
Yulan Adonay Archaga Carias is a Honduran fugitive, drug lord, and a suspected leader of the MS-13 gang in Honduras who was added to the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list on November 3, 2021. He is wanted for racketeering, narcotics trafficking, and firearms offenses. Archaga Carias is allegedly in charge of MS-13 for all of Honduras and is believed to be providing firearms, narcotics, and cash to gang members who are operating within the United States. He is also believed to be responsible for ordering the murders of rival gang members. Authorities believe he is still in Honduras.
The governments of Hugo Chávez and Nicolás Maduro have provided economic, political and military support to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC-EP) and the National Liberation Army (ELN). The support of Colombian leftist guerrillas has continued during the government of Nicolás Maduro. By 2018, the investigative group InSight Crime reported that the ELN operated in at least 12 of Venezuela's 23 states. The Venezuelan NGO Fundación Redes (Fundaredes) in 2018 documented more than 250 reports of Venezuelans who were victims of recruitment by Colombian irregular groups. Recruitment has also been denounced by Colombian media.