[CLSTR]
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [CRIME]

2 clusters · 3 sources · 15 days · First seen · Last updated

Colombian security and criminal investigations

Overview

The Colombian Ministry of Defense has offered a reward of up to 1,000 million pesos for the capture of José Esteban Méndez Álvis, alias ‘Ferley Ríos’. Identified as the leader of the Carlos Patiño structure within the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), Méndez Álvis is the alleged mastermind behind a car bomb attack at the El Bordo toll booth in Cauca on October 12, 2026. The explosion injured three civilians and damaged infrastructure on the Pan-American Highway.

Méndez Álvis faces charges including aggravated conspiracy, extortion, and kidnapping. Military intelligence links his group to an escalation of violence in La Sierra, Patía, Miranda, and Santander de Quilichao, involving the use of improvised explosive devices and explosive-laden drones.

Entities

José Esteban Méndez Álvis · Estado Mayor Central · Lizeth Alejandra Castaño Montes · Cauca · Colombia

Timeline

  1. [CRIME] 3 sources
    Colombia authorities offer rewards for cases of child murder and kidnapping

    Colombian officials have offered rewards of 100 million pesos for information on a child's murder in Antioquia and 30 million pesos for the location of a kidnapped 19-year-old in Valle del Cauca.

  2. [CRIME] 3 sources
    Colombia offers $1 billion pesos for alias Ferley Ríos

    Colombia is offering a 1,000 million peso reward for the capture of José Esteban Méndez Álvis, alias ‘Ferley Ríos’, a dissident leader linked to a recent car bomb attack in Cauca.

Sources

minuto30.com · mioriente.com · rli.blogs.sas.ac.uk