Alias ​​Demetrio, one of the top and most bloodthirsty leaders of the ELN, was killed

The Army shot down José Manuel Ocampo López, alias Demetrio or alias Espagueti, one of the top leaders of the ELNin the midst of fighting in Totoró in Cauca.

In the middle of the operation, abundant war material was seized.

The death of the subversive occurred in the midst of sustained combat with members of the ELN, in an operation that allowed the capabilities of this armed structure to be affected in the east of the department of Cauca.

“Thanks to intelligence work and coordinated military operations, troops of the Twenty-Ninth Brigade of the Third Division, with the support and capabilities of the Light Cavalry Group No. 8 and the Gaula Militares Cauca, achieved the neutralization of alias Demetrio o Espagueti, alleged financial articulator of the Southwestern War Front, of the ELN,” the institution said.

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The casualty occurred during combats recorded in the town of Paniquita, El Diviso village, rural area of ​​the municipality of Totoró, Cauca.

“Alias ​​Demetrio, with more than three decades in illegal armed structures, had a history of participating in terrorist actions and in the mass kidnapping of the La María church, in Cali”, added the Army.

In 2014 he was captured in a coordinated operation between the Military Forces and the National Police, but he later returned to the criminal organization, serving as financial articulator of the Southwestern War Front of the ELN, coordinating illicit economies and logistical support networks in the departments of Cauca and Huila.

Theirbackgroundcriminals

LA FM knew his entire criminal record, which began in the 80s.

• 1987 to 1989: Participated in attacks on Army troops, bombings, forced recruitment, deployment of explosive devices against the Public Force and collection of extortions from inter-municipal transporters in the rural area of ​​the municipalities of Baraya, Tello and Colombia, in Huila.
• May 1999: In support of the José María Becerra front of the ELN, he allegedly participated in the seizure and subsequent mass kidnapping of 194 people in the María church in the south of Cali.
• 2000-2003: He would have directed the harassment of Army troops, increased extortion charges against merchants and residents of El Tambo and López de Micay, Cauca.

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• 2004-2006: Participated in combats with Army and Police troops and consolidation of drug collection points and shipments.
• 2007-2014: Participated in kidnapping and withholding of ranchers, merchants, transporters and social leaders as pressure to pay extortions; in selective homicides and displacement in El Tambo and López de Micay.
• 07-NOV-2014 to 14-JAN-2020: He was captured in flagrante delicto and paid a sentence for the crime of manufacturing and trafficking of firearms and ammunition of the Armed Forces.
• 15-JAN-2020: Assumed as Financial Articulator of the Southwestern War Front of the ELN.

🔹 06-OCT-2025: He would have directed the creation of an illegal checkpoint on the sector known as Miraflores on the road that connects the municipalities of Silvia with Totoró.

During the operation, the Army seized short weapons, ammunition, suppliers, detonators, grenades, quartermaster material, communication equipment and propaganda alluding to the ELN.

“This result represents a direct impact on the armed, financial and logistical capabilities of the ELN in the southwest of the country, weakening its command and territorial control structure in eastern Cauca,” the institution added.