PROFILE · COLOMBIA

De la Espriella and the ACSN have been locked in an open confrontation since September, and the Santa Marta jailbreak of Monday 12 October has raised the stakes. Colombia’s president, a conservative who took office on 7 August, has made the armed group the showcase of his hard-line security policy.

For US readers, the fight matters because authorities link the ACSN to cocaine shipments bound for the United States. It also plays out around Santa Marta and Tayrona National Park, one of Colombia’s main destinations for foreign tourists.

Who Abelardo De La Espriella Is

Abelardo de la Espriella was born in Bogotá on 31 July 1978 and grew up with family roots in Montería, on the Caribbean side of the country. He studied law at Universidad Sergio Arboleda in Bogotá and built a career as a criminal defence lawyer, according to Blu Radio and Noticias Caracol.

His clients included the Colombian-Venezuelan businessman Alex Saab and David Murcia Guzmán of the DMG pyramid scheme, Noticias Caracol reported. In July 2025 he founded Defensores de la Patria, a movement that campaigned on an “iron fist” against criminals and corruption.

He won the runoff on Sunday 21 June 2026 with 49.66% in the electoral authority’s preliminary count, against 48.7% for Iván Cepeda of the left-wing Pacto Histórico. He was sworn in as President of the Republic for 2026 to 2030 in Cali on 7 August, with José Manuel Restrepo as vice president.

His wider agenda is covered in Who Is Abelardo de la Espriella? Colombia’s President.

De La Espriella and the ACSN, From Ultimatum to Offensive

The Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada, also called Los Pachenca, are an armed group active in Magdalena, La Guajira and Cesar. Authorities name Fredy Castillo Carrillo, alias “Pinocho”, as their main leader.

Under former President Gustavo Petro, the group took part in exploratory legal talks, and Pinocho held the status of a “peace manager”. The new government dismantled those talks in late August and early September, and a Bogotá judge later rejected his legal challenge, NTN24 reported.

On Saturday 12 September, after Pinocho offered to surrender on conditions, the president gave his defence and justice ministers one week to arrange it. “Here there are no negotiations, delays or demands,” he wrote on X, warning that otherwise the order would be to kill him, Vanguardia reported.

The deadline passed, and on Monday 21 September police killed alias “Cholo”, described as the group’s second in command. The ACSN answered with an armed strike that shut shops and transport in Santa Marta for several days.

De la Espriella ordered the city militarised and on Wednesday 23 September told the prison service INPEC to move 76 detainees linked to the group. He said they would go to maximum-security wings in other regions so they could no longer give orders from Caribbean jails.

In a national address on Sunday 27 September, he offered COP 3 billion (about US$943,000 at the official rate of 3,181.74 pesos per dollar on 14 October) for Pinocho. He reported 2,500 security personnel in Santa Marta and 23 arrests of alleged group members, according to Minuto60.

He also said he would lead operations in person, carrying and if necessary using “the legitimate weapons of the Republic”. “We are breathing down his neck and we are going to find him,” he said of Pinocho, who remains at large.

De La Espriella and the ACSN: His Santa Marta Offensive Photo: ArturoAparicio, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The Santa Marta Escape Tests His Strategy

At about 1 a.m. on Monday 12 October, 41 detainees escaped from a police holding centre in Santa Marta. Among them was Mario Alejandro Méndez Aguilar, alias “Mongolo”, whom authorities describe as a senior ACSN figure and who is presumed innocent.

The president removed the metropolitan police commander, Colonel Jeyson Haird López Puerto, within hours. “In this government, cowardice has no place,” he wrote, citing the escape and a road blockade at Tasajera that police failed to handle, Blu Radio reported.

The Magdalena government offered up to COP 50 million (about US$15,700) for Mongolo and a second fugitive, alias “El Guajiro”. Santa Marta Mayor Carlos Pinedo Cuello said on Tuesday night that 12 escapees were back in custody and 29 remained at large.

On Tuesday 13 October, the president announced that police and soldiers working with the US Drug Enforcement Administration had seized about a tonne of cocaine near Tayrona that he attributed to the ACSN. “We keep hitting the criminal income of the narco-terrorists,” he wrote, as quoted by Semana.

The escape and the seizure are explained in detail in Santa Marta Jailbreak: What We Know About the ACSN. The September stand-off is covered in Alias Pinocho Gets One Week to Surrender, and No Deal in Return.

What Critics Say

Lerber Dimas Vásquez, who heads PDHAL, a human rights platform in the Sierra Nevada, links the escape to the hurried prisoner transfers. He told El Espectador that some detainees were moved to a temporary centre that was not ready, and that police guards are not trained like prison staff.

Luis Fernando Trejos, a conflict researcher at Universidad del Norte, told the same paper that the escape showed a deep lack of capacity among city authorities. He said the ACSN benefits directly, because it recovers members and may be able to recruit.

The president’s style is also personal and highly visible, from ultimatums on X to patrolling Santa Marta with a pistol on his belt. Supporters see resolve, while critics question whether public threats and rapid transfers produce lasting results.

What It Means for You

For US readers, De la Espriella’s campaign against the ACSN runs alongside joint anti-drug work with Washington, as Tuesday’s DEA-backed seizure showed. A government that publicly targets cocaine routes to the United States is likely to keep that cooperation close.

Travellers to Santa Marta, Tayrona, Minca or the Lost City trek should expect a heavy military and police presence. Visitors should follow alerts from the US Embassy in Bogotá and local authorities, and avoid road travel during announced strikes or blockades.

For investors, the episode shows a president willing to act fast and in public, but also the cost when institutions lag behind. The economic toll of the armed strike is covered in Santa Marta Armed Strike Cost Colombia’s Tourist City US$30 Million.

Wider context is in Colombia Politics Explained, Who Holds Power in 2026 and Colombia Explained: The Country, Its Politics, Its Economy and What to Watch. Practical background on the city is on our Santa Marta city page.

What Is Not Known

Pinocho’s whereabouts are unknown, and reports in September said troops were reinforcing the Venezuelan border in case he tried to flee. Whether he will be captured, killed or surrender has not been settled.

Counts of the Santa Marta fugitives still at large have varied since Monday, from 33 cited in early reports to 29 given by the mayor on Tuesday night. No investigation result into how guards lost control has been published.

It is also unclear how much the offensive has weakened the ACSN’s finances and command. The government reports arrests and seizures, but independent assessments of the group’s strength are not yet available.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the President of Colombia in October 2026?

Abelardo de la Espriella is President of Colombia, sworn in for the 2026 to 2030 term in Cali on 7 August 2026. He is a conservative former criminal defence lawyer who founded the Defensores de la Patria movement.

What is the conflict between De la Espriella and the ACSN?

De la Espriella and the ACSN have clashed since he rejected negotiations with the group in September and ordered a military offensive. The group, also called Los Pachenca, answered with an armed strike that paralysed Santa Marta for several days.

What reward is offered for alias Pinocho?

The government offers COP 3 billion, about US$943,000, for information leading to ACSN leader Fredy Castillo Carrillo, alias Pinocho. He remained at large as of 14 October.

How did the president react to the Santa Marta escape?

He removed the city’s police commander on Monday 12 October and ordered priority efforts to recapture alias Mongolo. Regional authorities also offered rewards for the two most wanted fugitives.

Is Santa Marta safe to visit?

Security forces have been reinforced in the city since September, but armed strikes and road blockades have disrupted travel in recent weeks. Visitors should follow US Embassy and local alerts before travelling to Tayrona or the Sierra Nevada.

Sources: Vanguardia (ultimatum); Vanguardia (prisoner transfers); Minuto60; NTN24; Blu Radio (police commander); Blu Radio (biography); Noticias Caracol; Canal Trece (Registraduría preliminary count); Publimetro (inauguration); Caracol Radio (rewards); Caracol Radio (recaptures); Semana; El Espectador; Vanguardia (border); Superintendencia Financiera TRM via datos.gov.co (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