President De la Espriella orders transfer of 120 gang leaders

President Abelardo de la Espriella has ordered the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) to immediately transfer 120 criminal gang leaders from Buenaventura to maximum-security prisons. The move aims to sever communication channels and neutralize the command capacity of these groups, who reportedly continue to direct criminal activities from within prison walls. The administration's approach includes strict protocols such as the use of orange uniforms and the restriction of all telecommunications signals in specific pavilions.

In tandem with these security measures, the government is advancing a plan to construct 10 high-security megaprison facilities located outside urban areas. This project involves discussions with the ministries of Transport and Justice, as well as construction firms, to evaluate public-private partnerships.

Separately, the Prosecutor General's Office has formally accused the Vera Fernández brothers—relatives of FARC dissident leader ‘Iván Mordisco’—of involvement in a homicide, kidnapping, and torture in Cundinamarca. The charges stem from a January incident in El Peñón, where authorities allege the brothers participated in the killing of a man and forced two witnesses to undergo torture and assist in concealing the body.