Colombia captures "five terrorists," gang suspects

Colombian authorities detained five presumed members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) "as they slept" south of the district of Buenaventura on the Pacific Coast, Caracol radio reported on 18 June, citing declarations by the Minister of Defence Juan Carlos Pinzón. The Minister said the "five terrorists" were caught during "a surgical operation, legitimate and respectful of human rights" carried out by Naval Intelligence agents. Arms and "ample" amounts of ammunition were confiscated, Caracol reported. In Bogotá, police detained a drug trafficker identified as Gilberto Piñeros González, while he ate lunch on 18 or 19 June, Bogotá's Radio Santa Fe reported. The trafficker was one of 19 inmates who broke out of a prison in Ecuador on 12 February 2013, and this was the second or third time he was being held. Authorities separately detained in the western Valle del Cauca department six suspected criminals including a presumed chief or regional head of Los Urabeños - one of Colombia's main criminal gangs; the latter, a man dubbed Guacamayo, was sought for a range of charges including homicides, "torture," kidnapping and drug trafficking and was described as "the last of the leaders" of the Urabeños. He was detained at an unspecified date in the district of Alcalá, the Ministry of Defence reported on 18 June, adding that authorities had been tracking him since 2011 when he returned to Colombia after serving a seven-year prison sentence in the United States. Others detained with him were identified as an aide and finance chief dubbed el Rojo, three gunmen active in the district of Jamundí in Valle del Cauca, and two street dealers.