The Conquering Self Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada – ACSN), also known as Los Pachenca, is an armed group that emerged following the demobilization in 2006 of the paramilitary army led by Hernán Giraldo, alias “El Patrón,” on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Since then, the ACSN has consolidated its power in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in the department of Magdalena, where it controls drug trafficking routes and runs extensive extortion networks. In late 2022, the group sought to participate in peace talks with the Colombian government.
History
The ACSN originated from the Bloque Resistencia Tayrona (BRT) of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC), commanded by Hernán Giraldo Serna. The BRT began as a protection group for politicians, merchants, and marimberos—as the marijuana growers in the Sierra Nevada area were known—called “Los Chamizos.” Following the expansion of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – FARC) guerrilla group, Giraldo expanded his group and renamed it Las Autodefensas del Mamey, and by the late 1990s, it was known as the Autodefensas Campesinas del Magdalena y La Guajira (ACMG).
After agreeing to join the umbrella of the AUC, coordinated by brothers Carlos and Vicente Castaño, Giraldo’s group gained power and influence in northern Magdalena and the neighboring department of La Guajira. Following internal struggles, the group was renamed the Frente Resistencia Tayrona in 2002 and later became the Bloque Resistencia Tayrona in 2005.
The BRT demobilized in February 2006, and in 2008, Giraldo was extradited to the United States. However, he left behind an extensive network of sons, brothers, and nephews who continued leading the criminal operations of the Oficina del Caribe, created by Giraldo in 2003 and also known as Los Giraldo.
In 2012, the group entered a dispute with the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) over control of key drug trafficking territories. The clashes resulted in more than 150 deaths within a few months, according to media reports of the time.
The conflict began to subside after a former AGC lieutenant, Jesús María Aguirre Gallego, alias “Chucho Mercancía” or “Chucho Pachenca,” assumed leadership of the Giraldo clan in 2013. Under “Chucho Mercancía’s” command, the Gaitanistas and Los Pachenca became allies, working together to transport drugs from the north of the country. It was also at this time that the group adopted the name Los Pachenca.
Despite a relative calm that lasted several years, by the end of the decade, the position of Los Pachenca weakened due to internal divisions and blows dealt by law enforcement. The first was the arrest of the group’s second-in-command, John Salazar Salcedo, alias “Flash,” in May 2019. Just a month later, “Chucho Mercancía” was killed by authorities, allegedly betrayed by someone from his inner circle.
After Mercancía’s death, Hernán Giraldo’s nephew, Deimer Patiño Giraldo, alias “80,” assumed leadership of the group, leading to a new name: Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada. Additionally, Mercancía’s death sparked renewed tensions with the AGC, and once again, both sides began vying for key drug trafficking areas in the Caribbean.
However, just a year later, “80” was killed during a police operation. The police identified several possible successors, notably the Castillo brothers: Fredy Castillo Carrillo, alias “Pinocho,” and Carmen Evelio Castillo Carrillo, alias “Muñeca.”
In January 2021, Hernán Giraldo returned to Colombia after serving a 12-year prison sentence for drug trafficking charges in the United States. However, he soon found himself back behind bars, accused of sexually abusing minors during the years he was imprisoned in Colombia.
At the end of 2022, the ACSN requested to be included in the “Total Peace” policy, the flagship initiative of Colombian President Gustavo Petro, which envisioned talks with any armed group willing to negotiate with the government. When the state offered a six-month bilateral ceasefire with groups participating in the talks in January 2023, the paramilitaries accepted.
However, negotiations did not progress beyond preliminary informal talks, and when the ceasefire expired in June 2023, the government ignored the ACSN’s calls to renew it at that time.
In early August 2024, the Petro’s government officially announced the initiation of “socio-legal conversations” with the armed group. This categorization of the dialogues implies that, for the government, this group has no political recognition. In response, the group announced a cessation of its “military operations.”
Leadership
Since its formation, the leadership of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada has been linked to Hernán Giraldo and his extensive family network. However, Giraldo has denied ties, and it is unclear what influence he has had on the group’s day-to-day operations since his extradition to the United States.
Some of the group’s leaders, like “80,” were direct relatives of Giraldo, while others, like “Chucho Mercancía,” began their criminal careers in groups commanded by Giraldo.
“Pinocho,” widely believed to be the current top leader of the organization, is a former paramilitary from the BRT who, while not related to Giraldo, has referred to him as a father figure.
“Pinocho” was extradited to the United States to face drug trafficking charges in 2008. After serving his sentence, he was deported to Colombia in 2011. In 2022, he was arrested in Spain and extradited to Colombia to face new charges of murder and criminal conspiracy. In June 2023, he was released following a controversial judicial resolution. Although the ruling was later overturned, “Pinocho” remains free.
As part of the socio-legal dialogues with this group, on August 28, 2024, the government suspended the arrest warrants for Pinocho and other key leaders, such as José Luis Pérez Villanueva, alias “Cholo,” Loryin Emilio Pertuz Ballestas, alias “Sebastián or York,” and Orlando Pérez Ortega, alias “Pataliso,” who were designated as representatives of the ACSN.
Geography
There are different estimates of the number of members in the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada. According to the group, it has around 1,100 members; 800 according to figures from the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace in Colombia, and 250 according to a military intelligence report seen by Reuters in 2023.
The group’s main stronghold is in the Sierra Nevada region, around the city of Santa Marta, but its influence extends to the border with Venezuela, in the department of La Guajira, and northern Cesar. Overall, the group has a presence in 14 municipalities in the departments of Magdalena, La Guajira, and Cesar, according to information recorded in the Early Alerts of the Colombian Ombudsman’s Office.
This region is a strategic territory that connects key drug production areas with maritime routes through various rivers, ports, and coastal dispatch points, allowing the collection, transportation, and shipment of drugs across the Caribbean.
Allies and Enemies
The Gaitanistas have been both one of the main allies of the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada and their fiercest enemies at different times. Although initially in conflict, the ACSN spent several years as one of the Gaitanistas’ main operators in drug trafficking in northern Colombia.
Since 2021, the two groups have waged a brutal war for control of drug trafficking in the northern departments of Magdalena, La Guajira, and Cesar. The fighting has centered on drug trafficking corridors in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, where more than 1,000 people were displaced in 2022 alone, according to media coverage of the conflict.
The Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada have also formed alliances with smaller drug trafficking networks. Among them was the one led by Elkin Javier López, alias “La Silla,” which gave the group control over drug trafficking from the port of Santa Marta. Later, “La Silla” began collaborating with the AGC, breaking their alliance.
Additionally, the ACSN has established links with small hitman gangs, especially in urban areas where they have a presence. Its control over the region has also allowed it to set up extensive extortion networks. The group collects regular payments from merchants and residents in these areas, especially in the tourism sector, which has boomed on the beaches surrounding the Sierra Nevada. It also profits from land sales in the region, pressuring owners to sell their properties and give the group a percentage of the sale. If an owner refuses, the group seizes the property, forcibly displacing the owner and then sells the land directly.
The group has also been linked to the murder of social and community leaders in the Sierra Nevada. One of the most well-known cases is the murder of environmental leader Alejandro Llinás, who, in the days leading up to his death in 2020, denounced the illegal tolls the group had established to regulate tourist access to areas near Tayrona National Park.
Since the start of talks with the government under the “Total Peace” framework and the group’s public declaration to cease its “military operations,” the confrontation between the ACSN and the AGC has stopped, demonstrating both actors’ willingness to engage in dialogue. However, this non-aggression pact can be broken at any time, and some recent reports indicate that the conflict between both groups could spread to the Atlántico department on Colombia’s Caribbean coast.
Perspectives
Since its inception, the Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada has repeatedly demonstrated its resilience and ability to recover from setbacks. This is largely due to its historical presence in the Sierra Nevada and the power that the Giraldo clan wields in these territories. More than three decades of uninterrupted influence by the Giraldo family and its associates have created social, familial, and community networks that have left the group firmly entrenched, able to withstand attacks from both law enforcement and rival criminal groups like the Gaitanistas.
The group’s persistent efforts to maintain negotiations with the Colombian government suggest that it may be willing to reach an agreement. Even if talks with the Petro government progress, it is unlikely that dismantling the group would have a long-term impact on drug trafficking in the region. However, a negotiated exit could break the Giraldo clan’s dominance only if all its main members agree to lay down their arms.