Moment cartel's 'assassination boss' is arrested in the middle of his own wedding at church in Colombia after four years on the run
- Alleged drug trafficker Luis ‘Machete’ Santana was nabbed moments before he was due to get married in Uramita, Antioquia, last Wednesday
- The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia identified the 24-year-old as a member of the Gulf Clan
- Santana is allegedly responsible for coordinating the cartel's assassinations, firearm supply, drug trafficking activities and security team
- He has been charged with aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime
An alleged high-ranking cartel member who had been on the run for four years was finally captured moments before he was set to get married at a church in Colombia.
According to the Office of the Attorney General of Colombia, Luis ‘Machete’ Santana, 24, is one of the Gulf Clan’s top bosses and oversees the criminal organizations operations in the departments of Antioquia and Chocó.
Santana is allegedly responsible for coordinating the Gulf Clan’s assassinations, firearm supply, drug trafficking activities and the security team.
Video footage released by authorities showed the moment Santana was making his way to the altar at a church in the town of Uramita when agents placed him under arrest last Wednesday.
A woman is seen in the video asking the police officers why they were arresting the groom, before scuffling with the agents as they dragged him out of the church.
Luis ‘Machete’ Santana (center) was arrested in the middle of his wedding inside a church in Uramita, Colombia, last Wednesday. The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia said the 24-year-old oversaw operations for the Gulf Clan’s in the departments of Antioquia and Chocó
Luis 'Machete' Santana (second from the left) had been on the run since 2017 and was hiding out in the Colombian department of Antioquia
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Santana had been wanted by the police since 2017, but managed to avoid capture on several occasions and sought refuge in the Antioquia mountainous region.
He has been charged with aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime.
With nearly 3,000 henchmen, the Gulf Clan is considered Colombia’s most powerful drug cartel and neo-paramilitary group and operates out of the departments of Antioquia, Chocó and Córdoba.
According to the Drug Enforcement Administration's 2020 National Drug Threat Assessment report, the Colombian transnational criminal organization 'sends multi-ton quantities of cocaine via maritime conveyances to nearby Panama and other countries in Central America on a regular basis.'
Overall, Colombian drug trafficking organizations are responsible for 91 percent of the cocaine that is seized in the United States.
A wedding guest (bottom center) attempts to stop police officers from arresting Luis 'Machete' Santana, a 24-year-old high-ranking member of the Colombian Gulf Clan criminal organization
Luis Santana has been charged with aggravated conspiracy to commit a crime
