Colombia arrests 217 suspected members of top drug cartel

BOGOTA: Colombian authorities said on Monday they had captured over 200 members of the country´s biggest drug cartel, which is accused of murdering two dozen security force members in the past month.

The Gulf Clan was born out of the right-wing paramilitary groups that fought leftist guerrillas in the 1990s before turning their attention to the cocaine trade. President Gustavo Petro has accused the group, with which he suspended peace talks in early 2023, of devising a strategy to “systematically murder” members of the security forces. At a press conference on Monday, Armed Forces chief Franciso Cubides said the security forces had responded by arresting 217 members of the clan since April 15.