32-year old Colombian drug lord Julián Alberto Jiménez Monsalve (Machete) captured on Saturday, 19 January 2019, by Dominican authorities was living in a luxurious mansion in Punta Cana, posing as a prosperous Venezuelan cattle rancher. The head of the Grupo Delincuencial Organizado Robledo of Medellín was deported to Colombia on the same day he was captured.
Jimenez Monsalve is thought to be responsible for around 40 murders along with drug dealing in his home country, from where he escaped from authorities in 2015.
Now it is known that “Machete” is one of the most sought after criminals in the Valle de Aburra in 2018, and had been living in the Dominican Republic for some time. He was supposedly here legally. He had been issued an identity card (cedula) and driver’s license in the name of Venezuelan David José Mateo. The Central Electoral Board (JCE), that handles the civil registry in the country, said it would investigate how he obtained the fraudulent identification documents.
Media reports say that from the Dominican Republic, he continued his life in crime, directing operations in Colombia and Central America and was in close communication with Mexican drug cartels.
According to the mayor of Medellin, Federico Gutiérrez, his capture was a result of a coordinated effort involving Dominican and Colombian authorities. As reported, Machete’s arrest occurred during an operation led by the Policía Metropolitana del Valle de Aburrá of Colombia, in conjunction with the Dirección de Inteligencia Policial (DIPOL), with the backing of the Colombia Attorney General Office, INTERPOL and Dominican authorities.
The capture of “Machete” is the latest in a series of arrests of individuals from foreign countries who have set up residence in the Dominican Republic and are linked to organized crime and drug dealing. These including José Luis Díaz Sosa (Piru) from Puerto Rico, captured in November 2018, Canadians Kenny Joseph Pasacal Maheu and Denis Desputeaux who were arrested in June last year for drug dealing and Carlos José Gascon González, alias “El Gocho” who was a Venezuelan drug lord and hit man and he was arrested in December 2017.
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El Nuevo Diario
23 January 2019
