Johnny Vásquez had become the terror of the productive groups in the departments of Huila and Caquetá.
In the framework of stability tasks, troops of the High Mountain Battalion N°. 9, of the Ninth Brigade of Colombian National Army, in a coordinated work with the Air Combat Command No. 4 of the Air Force and the Aviation Mobility and Maneuver Battalions No. 5 and Communications No.2, with the purpose of working to raise the protection and security of the inhabitants, arrested the second ringleader and maximum financial chief of the Darío Gutiérrez front, of the Jorge Suárez Briceño bloc.
Alias Johnny Vásquez, through different modalities, apparently intimidated productive groups with extortion purposes, making demands of money ranging from $500,000 to $300,000,000 COP in exchange for allow them to continue with their activities, not attacking their property and their lives; this money ultimately strengthens the illicit activities of the Jorge Suárez Briceño bloc.
This structure has 104 denunciations for extortion, of which 82 are in Huila and, according to investigative work, its victims could be more than 300. The individual was the ringleader responsible for signing the brochures with the money extortion demands.
Alias Jhonny Vásquez was arrested together with alias Chispeado, which is the head of finances of the Darío Gutiérrez group, and who would have assumed the functions of alias Chuky, whose menace was neutralized last month of March 2024. The two men were traveling through the village of La Abeja, in Guayabal, of San Vicente del Caguán, on their mission to collect the money demanded in extortions.
At the time of the arrest, they had in their possession a pistol with ammunition, two rifle sights, checkbooks for the registry of money collected from extortions, stamps to register the payments of their victims, approximately 25 million pesos in cash, a motorcycle, four cell phones and documents evidencing the considerable profits obtained through their criminal operations.
It should be mentioned that this is the second blow dealt in less than a month by Colombian National Army against the armed wing of the Jorge Suárez Briceño bloc, given that on May 17 it was possible to arrest three members of this structure and the death in the framework of military operations of a fourth man, in the village of La Perdiz, in the municipality of Algeciras.
In the same way, this operation contributes to the mitigation of the risk of the early warning 018 issued by the Ombudsman's Office for Guayabal and Balsillas, municipalities of San Vicente del Caguán, Caquetá, and directly hits the FARC's Reconstruction Plan, which aims to gain control of the strategic zone among Huila, Caquetá and Meta.
The arrested individuals and the material were put into custody of the National Police for their prosecution process.
According to investigations, review and intelligence work, there is knowledge of the alleged financing by natural and legal persons to these illegal structures, which is why the Military Forces urge citizens not to give in to extortion and to trust the authorities. Reporting these facts is a legal duty in order to act against those responsible, arrest them and prosecute them.
In this way, Colombian National Army continues to work tirelessly to combat crimes that attack the good physical condition, safety and well-being of the inhabitants.
Prontuario delictivo alias 'Jhonny Vásquez'
Criminal record alias Jhonny Vásquez
Blow to the activities of the Jorge Suárez Briceño bloc, arrest of second ringleader and finance chief of the Darío Gutiérrez front
With two years in the structure, this man had already perpetrated several operations against the Military Forces and the inhabitants. Among his criminal acts, it is reported that he directed the burning of the NPR vehicle owned by the Humanitarian Demining Engineer Battalion N°.5, events that occurred on May 31, 2023, in the village of Río Blanco, municipality of Baraya, Huila.
On June 22, 2023, he would have ordered terrorist actions with a grenade against a gasoline station located at the exit of the municipality of Baraya.
He would be the one who on August 2nd ordered the so called Pistol Plan in which a female police officer was killed in the city of Neiva, and in the same way, the one who on May 2 and June 4, respectively, planned and ordered the grenade attacks to pressure extortion payments against commercial establishments in the city of Neiva.
Source: Press - National Army
