La Oficina de Envigado
| Founded | Diego Murillo Bejarano |
|---|---|
| Founding location | Medellin, Colombia |
| Years active | 1993-2012 (semi-defunct) |
| Territory | Medellin, its area and all Antioquia Department |
| Ethnicity | Colombian |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, extortion, murder, money laundering, terrorism, bootlegging and gun-running |
| Allies | Los Zetas, Los Rastrojos, Colombian parmilitary drug groups |
| Rivals | The Usuga Clan |
La Oficina de Envigado (English: The Office of Envigado) is a drug cartel and criminal organization originally founded as an enforcement and collections arm of Pablo Escobar's Medellin Cartel.[1] It operates throughout Colombia, but mainly in the cities of Medellín and Envigado. It also controls extortion, gambling and money laundering businesses within the Valle de Aburra that surrounds Medellin. It positioned itself as the chief mediator and debt collector in drug trafficking disputes and maintaining major connections with the "paracos" (Colombian paramilitaries) and guerillas.[2]
History
The Office was originally founded as an enforcement wing for the Medellín Cartel by Diego Murillo Bejarano, aka Don Berna (an EPL guerrilla deserter), however Murillo would have a falling out with Escobar, eventually joining forces with Los Pepes in order to oust him. Murillo then began to affiliate his Office with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, organizing drug trafficking operations on their behalf. La Terraza, a gang of the most feared hit men in the country, is also under The Office's control.[3]
La Oficina eventually evolved into a sizable narco-trafficking operation spanning from Medellín to the northern coast of Colombia, including the Panamanian border area, drawing many of its leaders from former Colombian paramilitary blocs. Its lower ranks are filled with teenagers and young men from the poorer neighborhoods in the hills of Medellin, mainly Robledo and Manrique, that moonlight as hit men willing to kill for as little as $25 USD.[4]
After the AUC demobilised in 2005, Murillo was arrested for the murder of a local politician, although he managed to run his empire from prison and made a deal with the authorities to use his power to keep violence to a minimum. In 2008, Murillo was extradited along with other paramilitary leaders, and the Oficina was hurt by infighting between rival factions led by Maximiliano Bonilla Orozco, alias Valenciano, and John Ericson Vargas Cardona, alias Sebastian, a native of Barrio Popular in Medellin, as well as conflict with the Usuga Clan. Vargas was arrested at his ranch in August 2012.[5]
Gang activities
As well as drugs, the Office also controls a number of casinos and gambling establishments, which it uses to launder money. The Office also has links with local authority figures and police officers, some of which moonlight as assassins. It has alliances with Los Rastrojos and Los Zetas in Mexico.[6]
References
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