Madrid (AFP) - Spanish police arrested in the Catalan town of Salou an alleged leader of a Colombian criminal organization wanted for hitmen, homicide and drug trafficking, authorities reported this Thursday.

First modification: 09/03/2026 - 13:49

The detainee, Jhonatan Alexander Castrillón Arango, known by the alias "Pirry", was wanted by the Colombian authorities, who had included him among the most wanted fugitives in the department of Antioquia.

According to the note, the suspect is considered one of the leaders of the criminal organization "El Mesa" and would have belonged to the demobilized United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), formed in the 90s to combat leftist guerrillas.

"He was the second leader of the narcoterrorist group 'La Mesa', a criminal structure with interference in the Aburrá Valley and Eastern Antioquia, and is wanted for homicide, manufacture, trafficking and possession of firearms and conspiracy to commit a crime," the Colombian president, Abelardo de la Espriella, commented on his X account.

"We are going to look for criminals inside and outside of Colombia. They can cross borders, change hiding places or try to disappear: our Public Force will find them and bring them to justice," added the president.

The Colombian authorities are investigating him for his alleged participation in crimes of hitmen, homicide, criminal organization and arms trafficking, detailed the Spanish police.

They also link him to international drug trafficking to Europe, especially to France, Italy and Spain, in operations allegedly related to criminal groups of Albanian origin and the Italian 'Ndrangheta mafia.

The investigation was carried out in coordination with the Colombian police, after Spanish agents detected movements in the European country of people linked to the fugitive, who allegedly used a false Venezuelan identity.

According to the police, the suspect tried to flee in a vehicle when the agents proceeded to arrest him in Salou, but he was intercepted and detained after resisting.

The Spanish authorities later confirmed his identity and placed him at judicial disposal to begin the process of handing him over to the Colombian authorities.

Among the events attributed to him is an attack that occurred in June 2024 in the municipality of Rionegro, in Antioquia, which left seven dead.

A reward of 250 million Colombian pesos weighed on him, the equivalent of almost 80,000 dollars.

© 2026 AFP

The content you requested does not exist or is no longer available.