A direct blow to the finances of the ‘Gulf Clan’ was executed by the Attorney General’s Office and the National Police, after the capture of three alleged organizers of money laundering who, according to investigations, would have given the appearance of legality to 53,000 million pesos from the shipment of cocaine to the United States.
The proceedings, carried out by the Delegate for Criminal Finances together with intelligence and police investigation units, made it possible to identify a complex network that moved drug trafficking resources through front companies and financial operations designed to hide the illicit origin of the money.
A business structure at the service of drug trafficking
According to investigators, the network would have been created to shield the profits generated by shipments of cocaine hydrochloride sent from the coasts of the Gulf of Urabá, Santa Marta and Cartagena. The drugs were transported in export containers disguised as loads of nuts and bananas, and even in speedboats that transited through Central America before reaching US territory.
To legitimize the income, those involved formed companies in sectors such as port logistics, hotels and real estate businesses. Paper companies—among them some dedicated to the manufacture of pallets for the transportation of bananas—would have been the vehicle to enter large sums into the financial system.
The role of alias ‘Cholo Banano’
The alleged financial mastermind of this operation is Jorge Fuentes, known as ‘Cholo Banano’ or ‘Platanero’, a businessman from the Urabá region involved in export activities and sports projects for more than a decade. The authorities point him out as one of the largest economic contributors to the ‘Gulf Clan’ since 2011.
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Fuentes remains detained in La Picota prison in Bogotá, while the process for his extradition progresses.
Three captured in Apartadó
In a series of raids carried out in Apartadó, three of his alleged closest collaborators were arrested:
• Martha Santacruz, alias ‘La Contadora’, an accounting expert who would have managed the parallel books, managed the investments and created the front companies.
• Luis Díaz, alias ‘Pollo’, accused of investing illicit money in at least 70 properties and two companies, in addition to charging rent in cash to avoid tracking.
• Juan Carlos Herrera, alias ‘Juanca’, supposedly in charge of mobilizing large sums of cash in the Urabá region.
The Prosecutor’s Office charged them with money laundering and illicit enrichment of individuals, charges that were not accepted. A judge imposed custodial security measures on them.
114 assets were subject to forfeiture
While the arrests were being made, another simultaneous operation allowed the seizure of 114 assets associated with the criminal network: 99 properties, 9 companies, 4 vehicles and money in financial products. The preliminary appraisal exceeds 70,000 million pesos.
The material evidence indicates that the leader of the structure would be Jorge Eliecer Fuentes Gulfo, alias Cholo Banano, who is deprived of his liberty awaiting extradition. At the same time, the Prosecutor’s Office imposed precautionary measures for the purpose of… pic.twitter.com/BxTKSWxSPU
— Colombian Prosecutor’s Office (@FiscaliaCol) December 8, 2025
Measures of embargo, kidnapping, suspension of dispositive power and seizure of possession were issued on these assets, in an effort to definitively cut off the flow of resources for the illegal organization.
With these actions, the authorities claim to have achieved a significant impact on the economic apparatus of the ‘Gulf Clan’, one of the most powerful criminal structures in the country.