The Gulf clan is considered one of the most powerful and brutal crime syndicates in Colombia. With “Matamba” one of the leading figures in the past year can be caught. But he later manages to escape from a high-security prison. Now he is killed in a security operation.
Security forces have killed one of the South American country’s most wanted drug dealers in northeastern Colombia. “In a police and prosecution operation, Juan Larinson Castro Estupiñán aka ‘Matamba’, former leader of the Gulf clan and one of the most wanted criminals in the country, was neutralized in Bolívar,” Colombian President Ivan Duque wrote on Twitter. “We continue to take action against the Gulf clan and make sure no bandit finds a cave to hide in.”
“Matamba” was arrested in May 2021 and imprisoned in the high-security La Picota prison in Bogotá. However, he managed to escape in March. Apparently he was able to leave the detention center unnoticed in the uniform of a prison officer. Prosecutors believe prison guards helped him escape. The authorities then put a bounty of two billion pesos (476,000 euros) on “Matamba”.
The “Clan del Golfo”, which mainly recruits its members from former right-wing paramilitaries, is considered one of the most powerful crime syndicates in Colombia. He is responsible for smuggling tons of cocaine to Central and North America. He is also involved in illegal mining and racketeering and is responsible for numerous murders and expulsions. Cartel boss Dairo Antonio Úsuga, aka “Otoniel”, was extradited to the United States in early May.