Colombian Forces Kill ACSN Second-in-Command 'Cholo' in Sierra Nevada Operation

On September 21, 2026, Colombian police and military forces killed José Luis Pérez Villanueva, alias 'Cholo,' during an operation in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, alongside six other alleged members of the same structure. Cholo was identified as the second-in-command — below top leader alias 'Pinocho' — of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada (ACSN, also known as 'Los Pachenca'), a narco-paramilitary successor group controlling drug-trafficking corridors and extortion networks across Magdalena and La Guajira that Gustavo Petro's government had previously tried to bring into dialogue under Total Peace. Hours after the deaths were confirmed, the ACSN's Estado Mayor decreed an armed strike ('paro armado') across Santa Marta, Magdalena and La Guajira in retaliation, setting off several days of violence and militarization under President Abelardo de la Espriella.