Comandos de la Frontera (CDF) is a drug-trafficking organisation that operates on the border between Colombia and Ecuador. It originated from the remnants of guerrilla and paramilitary organisations in the wake of the 2016 peace process and exercises influence in the Colombian departments of Nariño, Putumayo, Caquetá, and Amazonas and in the Ecuadorian regions of Sucumbíos and Orellana.
Estimates for the number of fighters under the CDF range from 1000 to 3000, making it one of the largest single armed groups to emerge following the 2016 peace process. The variation is likely due to whether local partners are considered in the man-power total, as the boundaries between who is or is not formally CDF are unclear.
CDF members are paid between 800 and 2,500 USD a month depending on rank. By the standards of guerrilla forces, the fighters are generally well-trained and well-equipped with assault weapons.
History
Comandos de la Frontera emerged from the remnants of the 48th and the 32nd Fronts of the FARC dissidents, which then merged with the criminal group La Constru. In an interview with El Espectador, then-leader Giovanny Andrés Rojas, alias “Araña,” said that the group began after several leaders decided to rearm less than a year after signing the 2016 peace deal.
The group took over territory in Putumayo that had previously belonged to FARC’s Southern Bloc. They have since expanded into neighbouring departments of Amazonas and Nariño in Colombia and have a presence in the border towns of Ecuador.
During the war, the 48th Front had forged a relationship with La Constru, a criminal structure composed of former paramilitaries and backed by former members of the Norte del Valle cartel. La Constru’s criminal connections and control of drug trafficking networks would prove critical to the later emergence of the CDF.
Comandos de la Frontera first publicized their existence under their new moniker in late July 2020 by distributing flyers in Putumayo.
More recently, the CDF are reportedly part of the Coordinadora Bolivariana Ejército Nacional (CNEB), a coalition of dissident FARC factions that split from the Segunda Marquetalia in November (of which year?). Aside from the CDF, the other major group in the CNEB is the Coordinadora Guerrillera del Pacífico, which operates in Nariño and comprises six fronts commanded by a man named Allende.
To quote a public statement from the group, “The unanimous and autonomous decision of those of us who sign this statement today is to continue along the path toward peace, with social dignity for everyone; heeding the outcry and hopes of the population in the territories. We are distancing ourselves from the name Segunda Marquetalia and from now on will not use this acronym.”
Leadership
Early leaders of the Comandos de la Frontera were alias “Sinaloa” and Miguel Antonio Bastidas Bravo, known as “Gárgola,” who was captured in 2019. Following the capture of Gárgola, Giovanny Andrés Rojas, alias “Araña,” became the undisputed leader of the group until he was arrested in Bogotá in February of 2025.
Some sources indicate that Araña may have been the leader since the group’s inception, but this is not certain. The current leadership of the CDF is murky because many of the group’s leaders have been arrested in the last two years and the relationship between field commanders and imprisoned leaders is unclear.
Araña’s lieutenant, alias “Cejas,” was arrested in April 2024. Roberto Carlos Álvarez Guerra, alias “Gerente,” became a key leader for the group but was then himself arrested in June 2025 in Abu Dhabi.
Other named individuals connected to the group are as follows: “Cambadre,” Johnathan Alfredy Tole Collazos, “Mono Tole,” and Marin.
Geographic Footprint in Colombia
The Comandos de la Frontera have territorial influence in the Colombian departments of Nariño, Putumayo, Caquetá, and Amazonas, the region along the border between Colombia and Ecuador.
The group originated in Puerto Leguízamo along the Caquetá River in the Colombian border department of Putumayo. CDF reportedly now controls the Putumayo River, which marks the border with Ecuador, and has set up armed checkpoints for marine traffic and the towns of Orito, San Miguel, Puerto Leguízamo, Puerto Asís, La Hormiga, and Valle del Guamuez.
The Comandos de la Frontera exercise rigid territorial control in the areas under their influence. They impose curfews, run checkpoints, collect extortion payments, and regulate community life, affecting farmers, Indigenous people, and local authorities. They have also been named as responsible for threats and attacks against social leaders
From there, the group expanded into Caquetá, where they fought over territory with the Estado Mayor Central FARC’s Frente Carolina Ramírez. They also have some presence in the northern parts of Nariño and in the Amazonas towards the tri-border region between Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru.
Presence in Ecuador
In addition to controlling the Putumayo River along the Colombia-Ecuador border, the Comandos de la Frontera have established direct influence in the Ecuadorian border towns of Sucumbíos and Orellana and their surrounding areas.
Expansion into Ecuador led to confrontations in 2024 with the Ecuadorian gang Los Choneros, with whom the CDF had previously had an alliance. Comandos de la Frontera successfully took over Los Choneros’ illicit mining extortion racket.
Since then, the Ecuadorian government has prioritized displacing the CDF from its border, and confrontations with the military and police have become commonplace. In August 2024, a Comandos de la Frontera attack left three police officers dead in Joya de los Sachas, Orellana.
In March of 2026, the Ecuadorian government carried out a bombing campaign of an alleged CDF training camp in Santa Rosa, Sucumbíos.
The Comandos de la Frontera have formed a working relationship with Ecuador’s dominant gang, Los Lobos. The CDF serves as a supplier of Colombian cocaine to trafficking networks controlled by Los Lobos, which terminate at the port of Guayaquil.
This relationship is built out of convenience, as Los Lobos appear to be in a dominant position compared to their rivals Los Choneros, and it makes sense for CDF to back the winner. The comparative vulnerability of Los Choneros created an opportunity for CDF to expand. A change in the balance of power within Ecuador could shift relationships, in much the same way that the alliance between Los Choneros and the CDF broke down.
Criminal Economies
The Comandos de la Frontera make money from two primarily criminal economies: their control over drug trafficking routes that span the border between Ecuador and Colombia, selling cocaine to the Ecuadorian gang Los Lobs, and from extorting illegal miners operating in their Ecuadorian territory.
The group participates in the production of coca leaf within Putumayo, extorting farmers within its territory for “protection,” purchasing the leaf from them and transporting it to processing facilities before selling the finished product to Ecuadorian gangs.
Comandos de la Frontera operates cocaine processing labs near the Ecuadorian border; notably, Colombian authorities raised a mega-lab with the capacity to produce 5 tons of cocaine near the border town of Puerto Asís. Cocaine sold by CDF is then transported to Ecuador’s port cities through networks controlled by Los Lobos, especially Guayaquil but also Manabí, Santa Elena, and El Oro.
With their expansion into Ecuador, the CDF has gained control of gold mining regions in Sucumbíos and Orellana and collects extortion payments from gold mines previously controlled by Los Choneros. Illicit gold mining also serves as a vehicle for money laundering for the group.
According to Ecuador’s Ministry of the Interior, the CDF has moved approximately 300 million dollars of revenue generated from drug trafficking and other illegal activities through front companies.
Negotiations with the Petro Government
Under the structure of Paz Total, CNEB – which includes Comandos de al Frontera – entered into negotiations with the Petro Administration. These negotiations, which lasted for 5 rounds, were undermined by accusations that CDF leader “Araña” continued to traffic narcotics even as negotiations were ongoing.
Colombian authorities controversially arrested Araña at his hotel in Bogotá in compliance with an Interpol red notice at the end of the third round of negotiations in February of 2025. The CDF leader was in the capital for negotiations, and the government had previously suspended his arrest warrants to facilitate those talks.
According to Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office, he was involved in a recent shipment of cocaine to the United States and was sought for extradition by a court in the Southern District of California on drug-trafficking-related charges. Despite his arrest, negotiations continued.
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