Santa Marta Jailbreak: What We Know About the ACSN
ANALYSIS · COLOMBIA
Key Facts
- —The country Colombia, a major US security partner, is led by President Abelardo de la Espriella, who took office on 7 August and has ordered a military push against armed groups.
- —Why it matters Santa Marta is the gateway to Tayrona National Park, and authorities link the armed group behind its unrest to cocaine bound for the United States.
- —Why now The Santa Marta jailbreak on 12 October freed an alleged ACSN finance chief, three weeks after the group paralysed the city with an armed strike.
- —What happened Forty-one detainees fled a police holding centre at about 1 a.m. on Monday 12 October; on Tuesday 13 October, authorities announced the seizure of over a tonne of cocaine near Tayrona.
- —The numbers Twelve escapees were back in custody by Tuesday night 13 October, leaving 29 at large; the cocaine haul cost the group more than COP 5.5 billion (about US$1.7 million).
- —What it means for you Visitors to Santa Marta, Tayrona and the Sierra Nevada should watch local alerts, because an armed strike and a road blockade have disrupted coastal roads within four weeks.
- —Still open How the guards lost control, who will answer for it, and whether the ACSN sheltered fugitives in the mountains remain unresolved.
- —Power Index Colombia ranks 6th of 14 in The Rio Times Latin America Power Index, with 51.9 points (October 2026 edition).
The Santa Marta jailbreak of Monday 12 October has become a fresh test of Colombia’s new security policy in its Caribbean tourist belt. Forty-one detainees fled a police holding centre, including an alleged finance chief of the ACSN, the armed group that shut the city down in September.
For US readers, the stakes go beyond one escape, because authorities link the same group to more than a tonne of cocaine bound for the United States. The seizure near Tayrona National Park was announced on Tuesday 13 October, after an operation run with the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
Who the ACSN Are and What Sparked the Crisis
The Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada, known locally as Los Pachenca, are an armed group based in the mountains above Santa Marta. Fundación Ideas para la Paz (FIP), a Bogotá think tank, traces their roots to the demobilisation of the Bloque Resistencia Tayrona, a former paramilitary bloc.
FIP says the group operates mainly in the Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira departments, living off drug trafficking, extortion and other illegal economies. A police organisation chart cited by Caracol Radio in September credited it with more than 700 members in 14 municipalities.
The current crisis began on Monday 21 September, when police killed José Luis Pérez Villanueva, alias “Cholo”, whom authorities described as the group’s second in command. Seven group members were “neutralised”, in police language, and three were captured in that operation, according to Caracol Radio.
Cholo had been stopped by police in December 2025 but walked free because his arrest warrants were suspended during talks under then-President Gustavo Petro. The Attorney General’s Office reactivated those warrants on Tuesday 1 September 2026, after the dialogue with the group was closed.
The ACSN answered with an armed strike, an order to shut down shops and transport backed by the threat of violence. Vehicles and businesses were attacked, and the national government sent more than 1,100 soldiers and police officers to Santa Marta and nearby Ciénaga.
President de la Espriella named the group’s leader, alias “Pinocho”, and three other members on X, calling them narco-terrorists. “I am coming for you,” he wrote, as quoted by Noticias Caracol.
In its own statement, the ACSN said the strike would end at 7 a.m. on Friday 25 September. The same document claimed the group had been willing since August to join a process of submission to justice.
How the Santa Marta Jailbreak Happened
The escape began at about 1 a.m. on Monday 12 October at a transitional detention centre near the city’s bus terminal. According to El Espectador, guards opened a gate to give an ailing detainee paracetamol, and others used the moment to riot and flee.
Lerber Dimas Vásquez, who directs PDHAL, a human rights platform in the Sierra Nevada, links the riot to the government’s transfer of ACSN prisoners. He says at least 70 inmates were moved, some to a new temporary centre that was not ready for them.
Vásquez told El Espectador that detainees there had filed complaints of human rights violations before the riot. He also argues that police officers, unlike staff of the national prison service INPEC, are not trained to hold dangerous suspects.
Mario Méndez, alias “Mongolo”, is the best-known fugitive, described by authorities as one of the ACSN’s finance chiefs. The government had announced his capture only days before the escape, and he is presumed innocent until a court rules.
The president removed the city’s police commander, Colonel Jeyson Haird López Puerto, who had led the force for little more than a month. Colonel Olmer Urriago took temporary command, and Colonel Jimmy Belalcázar is due to take over this week, Canal 1 reported.
Santa Marta Mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello said on Tuesday night that 12 escapees were back in custody, leaving 29 at large. Three had been recaptured and nine had returned voluntarily, Caracol Radio reported, while the hunt for “Mongolo” continues.
Luis Fernando Trejos, a conflict researcher at Universidad del Norte, told El Espectador that some fugitives may have found refuge with the ACSN in the Sierra Nevada. He said the group gains directly from the escape, by regaining members and possibly by recruiting new ones.
The manhunt and rewards are covered in Colombia’s Santa Marta Escape and What Happens Next. The dismissal of the police chief is covered in Santa Marta Police Chief Fired, 41 Escaped.
The Cocaine Seizure Near Tayrona
Authorities announced on Tuesday 13 October that police and army units working with the DEA had seized more than a tonne of cocaine near Tayrona National Park. The drugs were hidden in Calabazo, a rural area of the Bonda district of Santa Marta, Caracol Radio reported.
Police said preliminary findings link the load to the Frente Libardo Vergel, an ACSN unit, and that it was destined for the United States. They valued the loss to the group at more than COP 5.5 billion (about US$1.7 million at the official rate of 3,181.74 pesos per dollar on 14 October).
Brigadier General William Castaño Ramos, head of the police anti-narcotics directorate, praised the coordination between Colombian and US authorities. President de la Espriella wrote that the security forces would keep hitting “the criminal income of the narco-terrorists”, Semana reported.
What It Means for You
For US readers, the Santa Marta case ties a tourist city’s security directly to cocaine flows toward American markets. The DEA’s role in the seizure announced on Tuesday shows operational cooperation between Washington and Bogotá continuing under the new government.
In October 2025, US Senator Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican born in Colombia, asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio to list Los Pachenca as a foreign terrorist organisation. No such designation appears in the Federal Register, where the State Department publishes those listings.
Travellers heading to Tayrona, Minca or the Lost City trek use the Troncal del Caribe, the coastal highway that the ACSN disrupted during September’s strike. Visitors should follow alerts from the US Embassy in Bogotá and local authorities, and avoid road travel during announced blockades.
For investors, the episode shows a government that acts fast and publicly, but also the limits of rapid crackdowns. Roberto García Alonso, a professor at Universidad de La Sabana, told Noticias Caracol that retaking the streets does not mean retaking the territory.
Background on the new government’s priorities is in Colombia Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026. A wider country primer is in Colombia Explained: The Country, Its Politics, Its Economy and What to Watch.
What Is Not Known
The exact number of fugitives still at large is unclear. Police and city officials have given figures from 29 to 37 since Monday, depending on the date and the source.
Accounts of the cocaine seizure also differ in detail. The president said the drugs were buried in two large drums, while El Heraldo, citing army information, described eight blue plastic drums.
Vásquez says about 100 people have escaped from the city’s transitional centres in three breakouts this year. That figure could not be independently confirmed.
It is not known whether the ACSN helped any fugitives reach the Sierra Nevada. Whether any guard or officer will face charges over the escape has not been announced.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the ACSN in Santa Marta?
The Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada, also called Los Pachenca, are an armed group rooted in a demobilised paramilitary bloc. They operate mainly in Magdalena, Cesar and La Guajira and live off drug trafficking and extortion.
How many detainees escaped in Santa Marta?
Forty-one detainees fled a police holding centre at about 1 a.m. on Monday 12 October. By Tuesday night, 12 were back in custody and 29 remained at large, the Santa Marta mayor said.
Why does the Santa Marta jailbreak matter to the United States?
One fugitive is an alleged ACSN finance chief, and authorities link the group to a tonne of cocaine bound for the United States. The DEA took part in that seizure near Tayrona, announced on Tuesday 13 October.
Is the ACSN on a US terrorism list?
US Senator Bernie Moreno asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio in October 2025 to designate Los Pachenca as a foreign terrorist organisation. No such designation appears in the Federal Register, where those listings are published.
Is Santa Marta safe to visit now?
Colombia has reinforced security in the city since September, but an armed strike and a road blockade have disrupted coastal roads in recent weeks. Visitors should follow US Embassy alerts and local authorities before travelling to Tayrona or the Sierra Nevada.
Sources: El Espectador; El Heraldo; Semana; Caracol Radio (recaptures); Canal 1; Caracol Radio (Cholo operation); Caracol Radio (ACSN statement); Caracol Radio (cocaine seizure); Caracol Radio (Moreno request); Noticias Caracol; Superintendencia Financiera TRM via datos.gov.co; Federal Register search (all accessed 14 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief