8 members of highly effective cartel shot lifeless days after one among its high commanders killed in Colombia

Eight members of Colombia’s largest cartel have died in clashes with safety forces, the military stated Tuesday, the newest in a sequence of raids towards one among Latin America’s strongest felony teams.

Days after the dying of a high Gulf Clan capo, the army stated it had killed a number of extra of the cartel’s members and brought two captive throughout an operation within the nation’s northwest.  In a social media submit, the military stated it had additionally seized “plentiful battle materials and provides.”

The Gulf Clan was born from right-wing paramilitary teams that fought leftist guerrillas within the Nineteen Nineties — earlier than turning their consideration to the cocaine commerce.

They’re now a felony powerhouse getting cash from drug trafficking, unlawful gold mining, racketeering and migrant smuggling throughout the northern border with Panama.

The cartel is believed to quantity between 6,000 and 9,000 members, in keeping with authorities estimates.

Since peace efforts stalled, Colombia’s authorities has launched a sequence of assaults on the group.

The Gulf Clan is one among a number of cartels just lately designated as international terrorist teams by the USA.  In 2022, the Gulf Clan shut down dozens of cities in northern Colombia for 4 days in response to its chief being extradited to the U.S. for trial.

On Saturday, the police and the DEA killed alias “Chirimoya,” one of many cartel’s 5 commanders.

Late final month, air strikes killed 9 alleged cartel members.