The Antioquia governor's request after the capture of 'Primo Gay' in a blood-drained Briceño and progress in the investigation into the murder of Mateo Pérez

ExplainerPrimo Gay, ringleader in Antioquia, falls. Photo: Governor of AntioquiaJOURNALIST14.11.2026 13:41 Updated: 14.11.2026 13:47 The governor of Antioquia, Andrés Julián Rendón, asked the United States government to evaluate a possible extradition request against Néider Yesid Uñates López, known as alias Primo Gay, following his capture in the north of the department. "His smile was wiped off," said Rendón, referring to one of the photos of 'Primo Gay'. SEE ALSO The capture of alias Primo Gay took place in Briceño, Antioquia. Photo: courtesyWhen speaking about the outcome, the governor highlighted the intelligence work, the institutional coordination, and the actions of the Public Force and the justice system. SEE ALSO For the development of this deployment, the Government of Antioquia provided direct support to the troops by supplying food and lodging for the uniformed personnel who participated in the operation. The capture of alias Primo Gay took place in Briceño, Antioquia. Photo: courtesyHow the capture happenedThe detention of alias Primo Gay occurred after a combat against members of substructure 5 of the residual organized armed group (GAO-r), the 'Calarcá' faction, in the Santa Ana village, a rural area between Briceño and Yarumal. SEE ALSO Troops from the Gaula Militar Valle de Aburrá (Seventh Division of the Army) took part in the operation, in coordination with the Attorney General's Office and the Sijín of the National Police. Alias Primo Gay next to 'Arboleda' while the latter operates a drone. Photo: suppliedDuring the procedure, another alleged member of this structure was captured, and two 9-millimeter pistols, magazines, and ammunition were seized. According to the authorities, the man — for whom a reward of up to 640 million pesos was offered and who has nine years of criminal activity — allegedly belonged to the '36' front of the extinct Farc, under the command of alias Calarcá, and later joined the ranks of the Clan del Golfo. Currently, he is accused of participating in extortion, homicides, and forced displacements. SEE ALSO The reward for alias Primo Gay was 640 million pesos. Photo: suppliedInvestigation into helicopter attack and murder of journalistAfter his capture, the authorities are advancing investigations linking alias Primo Gay to serious acts of violence in the region. The first is the downing of a Police Black Hawk helicopter that occurred on August 21, 2025, in the jurisdiction of Amalfi (Antioquia), when the aircraft was attacked with a cylinder bomb-type explosive device in an action in which 13 police officers died. SEE ALSO Alias Primo Gay, who has a record as an explosives expert within the '36' front, is being investigated as one of those allegedly responsible and as a ringleader of the structure to which the authorities attribute this attack. The multimillion-dollar reward for 'Primo Gay'. Photo: suppliedLikewise, the authorities are investigating his alleged responsibility in the murder of journalist Mateo Pérez Rueda, which occurred in May 2026 in a rural area of Briceño. In the judicial case file for the murder of the journalist and director of the digital outlet El Confidente, the Attorney General's Office formally linked alias Primo Gay as an alleged co-author along with John Edison Chalá Torrejano, alias Víctor Chalá, accused second-in-command of the '36' front in Briceño, in addition to alias Flor and alias Macho Viejo. SEE ALSO Added to this are reports in the municipality of threats against teachers, who were allegedly intimidated by members of the '36' front under the command of 'Primo Gay', forcing them to leave the locality and affecting the provision of educational services. According to what the accusing body presented before a guarantees judge, on May 5, 2026, the journalist was traveling by motorcycle toward the El Palmichal village to carry out journalistic work when he was intercepted by armed men and taken to a school in the area. There, alias 'Víctor Chalá' interrogated him and checked his cell phone, where he found conversations with a member of the National Army, for which reason he accused him of being an informant. SEE ALSO According to the Attorney General's Office investigation, to force him to hand over information, the group subjected the journalist to torture through initially non-lethal gunshots and, given his refusal, 'Víctor Chalá' gave the order to execute him by gunfire. Afterwards, the victim's body was dismembered with a bladed weapon and hidden in an illegal grave in a rural area of Briceño, from where it was recovered days later by a humanitarian mission of the International Committee of the Red Cross. SEE ALSO After fleeing the military offensive in Antioquia, alias Víctor Chalá was captured in June 2026 by the National Police at the Flandes toll booth, in the department of Tolima. A judge imposed a detention measure on Chalá in a prison facility after he was charged with the crimes of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated torture, forced disappearance, aggravated homicide, conspiracy to commit crimes, and illegal possession of weapons. Legal Medicine determined that journalist Mateo Pérez was tortured. Photo: EL TIEMPO. X-ray of the criminal dispute in BriceñoThe capture takes place in a territory hit by the confrontation between illegal armed groups for control of strategic drug trafficking routes, the planting of illicit crops, and illegal mining. In Briceño, the dissidents of front 36 operate — attached to the 'Magdalena Medio Block of the General Staff of Blocks and Fronts (EMBF)', under the command of alias Calarcá — along with the 'Clan del Golfo' (or 'Gaitanist Army of Colombia') and the '18' front. The Court ordered the Government to implement a plan with measures in Briceño. Photo: private archive, social media, and governor of AntioquiaThe latter group, which was commanded by the slain alias Ramiro, broke with 'Calarcá' to align itself with the New Central General Staff of 'Iván Mordisco'. Added to this fracture is the emergence in 2025 of the group 'Guerrillas Campesinas Los Cabuyos', born of an internal division within the '18' front itself. It should be recalled that the national rupture between 'Mordisco' and 'Calarcá' was formalized in August 2024, after the death of 'Gentil Duarte' in Venezuela in 2022 and amid tensions over the peace talks. SEE ALSO The indictment hearing against alias Chalá. Photo: EL TIEMPO. According to the Early Warning of Imminence (ATI) 019 of 2025 from the Ombudsman's Office, this confrontation keeps both the urban center of Briceño and the districts of Travesías, Las Auras, Chorrillos, Pueblo Nuevo Berlín, and Morrón at risk. The Public Ministry has documented a mass displacement of 1,033 families (2,110 people) in October 2025 ordered by the '36' front due to the imminence of combat with the 'Clan del Golfo', in addition to 10 homicides of young men between 17 and 28 years old recorded through September of that same year. The entity has also warned about the imposition of nighttime curfews, the requirement of recommendation letters from community boards to enter the villages, threats against social leaders, and emotional manipulation tactics to recruit children and adolescents by taking advantage of school dropout. SEE ALSO Added to this panorama are the stigmatization of women, attacks against the medical mission, and the planting of antipersonnel mines, such as the artifacts deactivated by the 4th Field Artillery Battalion in the Travesías village last December. The crime in the ambulance and the motorcycle bomb during Holy WeekThe deterioration of public order in Briceño reached a critical point during Holy Week 2026. On Holy Thursday, April 2, Yonny Alexánder Jaramillo Mora, 24 years old — accused of being an alleged member of the '36' front and driver of alias Primo Gay — suffered a traffic accident in the municipality. While he was being transported in an ambulance to another medical facility, allegedly without accompaniment from the Public Force, an armed group intercepted the vehicle in the Moravia sector, less than 30 minutes from the urban center, and assassinated him with multiple gunshots. The authorities attribute this crime to members of the 'Clan del Golfo' or to the 'Guerrillas Campesinas Los Cabuyos' faction. SEE ALSO The next day, on the night of Good Friday, April 3, a motorcycle bomb was activated in the municipality, for which the National Police and the Government of Antioquia offered a reward of up to 100 million pesos. Although the Ministry of Defense did not immediately officially attribute the attack, among local authorities the hypothesis emerged that the attack would have been carried out by the '36' front of 'Calarcá' as retaliation against the Police following the murder of Jaramillo in the ambulance. CAROLINA BOHÓRQUEZEL TIEMPO correspondentSee more newsCrisis at the Bogotá airport. Photo: Follow all the information from Colombia on Facebook and Twitter, or in our weekly newsletter. EL TIEMPO NEWSLETTERSSign up for our newsletters and receive news in your email according to your interests. Stay informed about what really matters to you. EL TIEMPO GOOGLE NEWSFollow us on GOOGLE NEWS. Always stay up to date with the latest news, coverage, stories, and analysis directly on Google News. EL TIEMPO WHATSAPPJoin El Tiempo's WhatsApp channel to stay up to date with the most relevant news as it happens. EL TIEMPO APPStay informed with the EL TIEMPO app. Receive the latest news, coverage, stories, and analysis directly on your device. SUBSCRIBE TO THE DIGITAL EDITIONReliable information for you. Subscribe to EL TIEMPO and access our journalistic content without limits.