One of Colombia's most-wanted drug traffickers captured in Mexico

Federal and Mexico City authorities arrested on Wednesday Eduard Fernando Giraldo Cardoza, alias "Boliqueso," an alleged Colombian drug trafficker linked to the Gulf Clan who had been wanted for seven years in his country and in the United States.

Gracias a nuestra Dirección de Inteligencia Policia se captura a alias “Boliqueso” en la ciudad de #México, quien estuvo como jefe de “Los Rastrojos”, siendo señalado de la comisión del 70% de homicidios en #CaliCo. @PoliciaColombia @SeguridadCali @AlcaldiaDeCali @GobValle pic.twitter.com/ElfhtI8aev

— Brigadier General Juan Carlos León Montes (@PoliciaCali) April 20, 2022

"After Otoniel (former member of the Popular Liberation Army guerrillas), this is the most important capture for the DEA, the U.K. authorities, and the Colombian police," confirmed Jorge Luis Vargas, head of the Colombian National Police, in a message cited by El Financiero.

According to Colombian authorities, Boliqueso is one of the drug traffickers who has smuggled the most cocaine out of Colombia in recent years. As a result, the alleged drug trafficker was under surveillance for several months in Acapulco and Mexico City.

As part of the investigation, boats and luxury apartments were found. Similarly, several women were identified who facilitated the plan to capture Giraldo Cardoza after being followed by police agents. The United States announced that it will order the forfeiture of any assets used by the alleged criminal to commit or facilitate the commission of his crimes.

President Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed the arrest on Thursday. "Since yesterday morning they reported on this case, the arrest of an alleged criminal from Colombia, it seems that he is famous and wanted by international agencies. He was detained in Mexico by the Secretary of the Navy and was deported just yesterday," he claimed at a press conference.

En la @Alcaldia_Coy, efectivos de la #SSC, en colaboración con personal del @INAMI_mx, detuvieron a un ciudadano colombiano que no acreditó su legal estancia en el país. https://t.co/VvZRMsosBD pic.twitter.com/xj0NRMdRUB

— SSC CDMX (@SSC_CDMX) April 20, 2022

Colombian President Iván Duque thanked the international agencies for their cooperation in the capture of Galindo Cardoza, considered a high-value target for the DEA and the European Union Agency for Police Cooperation (EUROPOL).

Gracias a la labor de nuestra @PoliciaColombia, en coordinación con autoridades internacionales, fue capturado en Ciudad de México, Edward Giraldo, alias “Boliqueso”, narcotraficante del Valle del Cauca quien lideraba redes de tráfico de drogas en Europa, México y Estados Unidos.

— Iván Duque 🇨🇴 (@IvanDuque) April 20, 2022

Edward Fernando Galindo Cardoza is one of the last "pure" drug traffickers who inherited the businesses of the now-defunct Norte del Valle Cartel, the president added.

U.S. authorities said they will prosecute Boliqueso for international cocaine distribution conspiracy, according to a consolidated indictment against the drug trafficker unsealed by the Justice Department in 2015, reported Infobae.

Between May 2011 and December 2014, 'Boliqueso' and his accomplices allegedly distributed cocaine throughout the continent in an attempt to smuggle it into the United States. In addition to the drug shipment, he is accused of murdering several people, including 81-year-old María del Socorro Patiño de Moreno on June 5, 2015, in Valle del Cauca.