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Ilustración editorial en acuarela de agentes de policía junto a una mesa con evidencias incautadas en bolsas selladas, en un barrio caribeño con palmeras
Agentes revisan evidencias incautadas durante un operativo en el Caribe colombiano, ilustración editorial alusiva. · Imagen generada para EPM

French national captured in Soledad during Blindaje operation

The Blindaje 360 operation left a preliminary balance of 72 people captured in 50 searches, according to the Presidency.

--- The context --- Operation Blindaje 360 has been widely publicized by the Government of Abelardo De La Espriella as a large scale deployment. The operation focused on Soledad, in Atlántico, against structures dedicated to drug trafficking and other crimes. --- The facts --- According to the Presidency, 50 searches were carried out with a preliminary balance of 72 people captured, with 42 in flagrante and 30 by court order. The attributed offences include criminal conspiracy with 16 cases, theft with 18, drug trafficking with 14, illegal possession of weapons with 14, homicide with 3 and other offences with 7. Among those detained are alias Ñoño and alias Keko, whom the president confronted. The seizures included 17 firearms, a traumatic rifle, a hand grenade, 5.208 grams of marijuana, 1.259 grams of cocaine, four sachets of tusi, 12 mobile phones, 1.300.000 pesos in cash, a vehicle and a motorcycle. One capture drew attention, that of a French citizen surprised in flagrante with one kilogram of cocaine, according to the Presidency, identified as Traore Mamoudou and detained at carrera 10 with calle 47, in the Soledad 2000 neighbourhood. --- The positions --- The Presidency presented the balance as a result of the operation and highlighted the capture of the French citizen for drug trafficking. Authorities point to Traore Mamoudou as belonging to Los Costeños, under the command of alias El Quesero. According to the request from France, he contacted vulnerable people to travel to Europe with substances attached to the body or hidden in luggage. --- What remains unknown --- Traore Mamoudou had already been captured in December 2022, when he was wanted under an Interpol red notice in 195 countries. At that time authorities pointed to him as a dynamizer and trafficker who managed to hide in Barranquilla. He would be involved in a case at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, where a French airline commercial technician was captured with 16 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride he intended to take from the bathroom of an aircraft that left Bogotá, according to the Prosecutor's Office at that time. Why he remained in the country is not known. --- Unanswered questions --- How did a man wanted in so many countries remain in the country after his earlier capture? What controls failed for him to remain linked to a criminal structure? What protection will vulnerable people contacted to carry substances to Europe receive? Will a definitive balance be known? --- EPM analysis --- The case shows a network with weapons, money and recruitment capacity, but also gaps in follow up after an earlier capture. The most exposed link was vulnerable people convinced to travel with substances, which requires prevention and support. Each attribution must be verified in court, with guarantees and with sustained presence in the affected neighbourhoods. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, the operation must be assessed by its verifiable results and by what it obliges the state to correct afterwards. The capture of a man wanted internationally confirms the seriousness of the case, but his permanence in the country demands clear explanations. The response will be complete only if it combines rigorous judicial investigation, effective protection for vulnerable people used by these networks and sustained presence in neighbourhoods, so that the blow against Los Costeños becomes lasting security for Soledad.
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