Special report
Security on the Caribbean Coast
The Caribbean coast is where Colombia's tourists go, and where the armed groups tax almost every business. This is who runs it, and what it means for the people who live and travel there.
Where: The Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and the coast around it, from Santa Marta to Tayrona Park, Buritaca, Palomino and La Guajira, plus Barranquilla and the border town of Maicao.
1Who runs the Sierra Nevada
The Conquistadors of the Sierra Nevada have at least 594 confirmed members, 334 of them armed; other estimates put them at 800 to 1,000. Their top leader is alias "Pinocho" (Fredy Castillo Carrillo), a fugitive with a 3,000 million peso reward on him. In August, the president signed his extradition to the United States. In September, the security forces killed two of the group's top commanders: alias "Bendito Menor" on September 4, and his successor, alias "Cholo," on September 21, in an operation with helicopters and Super Tucano aircraft near Guachaca, Santa Marta.
What it meansThe government has killed two of the group's top commanders in a month. Its top leader is still free.
2The four-day shutdown
After Cholo was killed, the group called an armed strike. From September 21 to 25, it shut down Santa Marta and parts of La Guajira. The president says 2,500 troops now hold the city. Pinocho wrote to the president: "Putting me in a body bag won't end the problems of the Sierra Nevada and the area around it." He says he's willing to face the courts, but not for crimes he denies.
What it meansOne armed group shut down a major tourist city for four days.
3A tax on almost every business
On the corridor from Santa Marta to Tayrona Park, Buritaca and Palomino, the group extorts about 95% of the hotels, restaurants, tour operators, shops and transporters, according to the Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP). It charges per tourist, charges a fee to open a new business, and takes in 6,000 to 7,000 million pesos a month. In the countryside, the Ombudsman's office says it charges 2,000 pesos per hectare, per head of cattle or per kilo of cocoa, and 10% of every land sale. It sets the rules of daily life and punishes those who break them with threats, forced labor, displacement and even murder.
What it means for usIf you vacation in Santa Marta, Tayrona, Buritaca or Palomino, part of what you pay likely ends up with the armed group.
4La Guajira and the Venezuela border
The group is expanding into Maicao, on the Venezuela border, where the ELN and Segunda Marquetalia dissidents also operate. In June, the Ombudsman's office warned of a "high-risk scenario for the civilian population" there, with the Wayuu among the most exposed. On January 9, five young people were killed in Maicao. On April 12, a massacre in Villa Mery left five dead, two of them minors. On October 4 and 5, a migration sweep in Riohacha and Maicao expelled 23 foreigners and held 260 people for checks.
What it meansThe war over the Sierra Nevada is spreading toward the Venezuela border.
5Barranquilla's gang war
In Barranquilla, two gangs, Los Costeños and Los Pepes, are at war over territory and extortion. The city had 462 homicides in the first 39 weeks of 2026, but weeks 36 and 37 had 3 each, the lowest of the year. A researcher at the Universidad del Norte, Luis Fernando Trejos, credits the president's security council in the city, moving gang leaders to other prisons, and better coordination between the mayor and the police. On October 4, police captured alias "Salchichón," head of the Los Porteños gang.
What it meansBarranquilla is calmer than it's been all year, and experts warn the calm is fragile. The president: "When the State makes up its mind, it never loses."
The scorecard
Zona Bananera, Magdalena: 88 homicides per 100,000 people, to September 2025, against 26 nationally. Barranquilla: 462 homicides in 39 weeks of 2026. The Santa Marta tourist corridor: about 95% of businesses pay extortion, 6,000 to 7,000 million pesos a month.
What it meansOn the Caribbean coast, extortion is the armed groups' main business.
These groups use any space they're given to reset and grow. They need to be crushed, not contained.