{"id":2348,"date":"2017-08-20T10:00:48","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T10:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/armando.info\/?p=2348"},"modified":"2017-08-20T10:00:48","modified_gmt":"2017-08-20T10:00:48","slug":"diego-rastrojo-the-last-narco-on-horseback","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/armando.info\/en\/diego-rastrojo-the-last-narco-on-horseback\/","title":{"rendered":"Diego Rastrojo, the last narco on horseback"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Don \r\nJos\u00e9<\/I>, \r\nalso known as the Colombian capo Diego P\u00e9rez Henao, had sown a lot during his \r\ncaptivity. Settled on a ranch in the inhospitable Colonia Mijagual of the state \r\nof Barinas (central-western plains), he pretended for a year to be a prosperous \r\nlandowner who made money like few others despite the downfall of Venezuela's \r\neconomy. He had developed a network of contacts with policemen, peasants, and \r\nranchers in the village, but it was not enough for him to keep hiding. In the \r\nearly morning of June 3, 2012 P\u00e9rez Henao was captured after a joint operation \r\nbetween the Colombian DIJIN (Direcci\u00f3n de Investigaci\u00f3n Criminal e Interpol) and \r\nthe Venezuelan ONA (Organizaci\u00f3n Nacional Antidrogas).<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n

With \r\nhis arrest, it was revealed the true identity of the enigmatic landowner of \r\nMijagual. P\u00e9rez, alias Diego Rastrojo, was a mobster to the root: head of the \r\npowerful criminal army Los Rastrojos, involved in 66 homicides in Colombia, \r\nseveral kidnappings and five forced disappearances; founder of the Norte del \r\nValle cartel, responsible for trafficking 81,100 kilograms of cocaine into the \r\nUnited States between 1994 and 2008, a firearm manufacturer, guilty of the \r\nmurder in January 2008 of his former chief Wilber Varela, aka Jab\u00f3n, and other \r\ncrimes. A long history of more than 20 years of crimes, but without a single \r\ncriminal record until his arrest. It was in a U.S. federal court in South \r\nFlorida that he was sentenced to 30 years in prison on August 6, \r\n2014.<\/p>\n\n\r\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

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Diego P\u00e9rez Henao | Photo by: Colprensa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

His \r\noutcome seems inconsequential in the Colonia Mijagual. There, the Capo's \r\nranch<\/I> is just mystery and legend. Its real name is \"Potrero Redondo\", but \r\nalso they also call it \"La Ramera\" or \"Cocuizal\". Since the capture of alias \r\nDiego Rastrojo it's not known these ways, but because of the history that \r\nassociates the land to drug trafficking. In 2006, these properties were sold by \r\nJes\u00fas Manuel Brice\u00f1o to Agroqu\u00edmicos Santa Rita, a company owned by Israel Ram\u00f3n \r\nCh\u00e1vez Aro, son of a cousin of the late President Hugo Ch\u00e1vez, for 800 million \r\nbolivars (or about $180,791, calculated at the rate of that moment). One source, \r\nwho was related to a security agency in Colombia, claims that these lands did \r\nnot legally pass to the head of Los Rastrojos, but in practice they did. \r\n<\/p>\n\n\n

Is an open secret that the lands belonging to Ch\u00e1vez Aro are related to P\u00e9rez Henao.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\nThe testimony matches with that exposed by peasants and a \r\nlandowner from Barinas. All claim to have seen empowered the boss of those \r\ndomains for more than a year. \"He sold a lot of onions, which was puzzling for \r\nus because cultivating onions is expensive. He'd bring beers to the cops, he'd \r\ncome and say hello. He was a simple guy, who would suspect him\", comment two \r\npeasants. Even in one of the Mercantile Registries of the Venezuelan plains it \r\nis an open secret that the lands belonging to Ch\u00e1vez Aro are related to P\u00e9rez \r\nHenao.