History
Los Rastrojos emerged out of the Norte de Valle Cartel, which is considered the successor to the Cali Cartel. The group was set up as an armed sub-faction loyal to one of the Norte de Valle’s leaders, Wilber Varela, alias “Jabon.” Partly, this was due to an internal power struggle against another Norte de Valle leader, Diego Montoya, alias “Don Diego.”
Diego Perez Henao, alias “Diego Rastrojo,” Jabon’s liuetenant, put the group together and so it adopted his name.
Early on, Los Rastrojos served as something of a personal army for Wilber Varela as well as protecting drug laboratories and trafficking routes under his control.
When the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC demobilized following negotiations with the Colombian state, Los Rastrojos attempted to participate by branding itself the Rondas Campesinas Populares – RCP, but this did not work.
From 2006 to 2008, Los Rastrojos expanded as a faction within the Norte de Valle Cartel into Quindio, Risaralda, Caldas, and La Guajira. But its expansion meant it was outgrowing its role as a faction within a larger structure.
In 2008 Diego Rastrojo and Javier Antonio Calle Serna, alias “Comba,” murdered Wilber Varela after he attempted to slow their expansion into Santander and Norte de Santander.
Now independent, Los Rastrojos was free to grow into one of the country’s largest criminal organizations with a presence in a third of Colombia’s departments. Their biggest industry was exporting cocaine and heroin but they also had their hands in extortion and kidnapping.
Under the leadership of the Comba brothers, Javier Antonio and Luis Enrique Calle Serna, Los Rastrojos expanded far beyond its original base on the Pacific Coast. The brothers operated primarily in Cali, and also oversaw expansions into Nariño and Cauca.
However, Los Rastrojos’ rapid rise would come to a shuddering halt in 2012, when the Colombian government arrested all three of Los Rastrojos leaders. First, Javier Antonio Calle Serna handed himself in to Colombian authorities. Then, Diego Rastrojo was captured by the Venezuelan state and handed ovr to Colombia. On October 4, Serna’s brother, Luis Enrique, handed himself in to the DEA.
As a final blow, US authorities sanctioned Los Rastrojos in 2013 under the Kingpin Act.
The complete loss of its leadership in 2012 caused Los Rastrojos to splinter into many smaller cells, severely diminishing its territorial and criminal presence.
Geography
Los Rastrojos’ original base was on Colombia’s Pacific Coast and mainly in Valle del Cauca and Cali. At their peak, the organization had a presence in over a third of Colombia’s territory, including Antioquia, La Guajira, Norte de Santander, Bolívar, Cesar, Chocó, Córdoba, Nariño, Putumayo, and Santander.
Now, the group’s presence is much diminished. Some splinter groups continue to operate in Valle del Cauca and in some urban areas on the Caribbean coast.
Leadership
Since the arrests of the Comba brothers and Diego Rastrojo, Los Rastrojos has lacked clear leadership, likely the main reason behind its territorial collapse.
The group has also continued to lose leaders. Venezuelan authorities arrested Wilfrido Torres, alias “Necoclí.” He was replaced by Jhon Jairo Durán, alias “Menor;” however, Necoclí refused to accept the new order of things and attempted to control the group from prison, triggering an internal power strucutre.
At the moment, the group’s leadership is unclear.
Criminal Economies
Los Rastrojos were and are primarily a drug-trafficking organization. They would purchase coca from suppliers and oversee production in their own drug laboratories. The group operated an integrated supply chain, including processing and distribution to departure points on the Pacific Coast.
Most of these narcotics were then shipped to Mexico, but the group also controlled at least one trafficking route into Venezuela.
Relationships with Other Groups
In 2019, Los Rastrojos were challenged in many of their territories by the ELN, especially along the border with Venezuela.
Attempting to protect their territory, Los Rastrojos entered into a tentative alliance iwth Clan del Golfo, a former rival. This alliance was not successful in displacing the ELN but likely resulted in Los Rastrojos adopting a subordinate position to the Clan del Golfo.
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