U.S and UK intel lead Colombian Police to alias “Terror” of Gulf Clan

In a high-stakes operation, Colombia’s National Police, aided by crucial intelligence from the United States and the United Kingdom, have dealt a powerful blow to the Gulf Clan, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in the country. Oliverio Isaza Gómez, known by his alias “Terror,” was killed in a police raid on February 22, 2025, in the lowlands near Puerto Triunfo, Antioquia. The raid resulted in the deaths of Isaza and five of his associates and has been hailed by Colombian authorities as a monumental success in the fight against drug-related violence and organized crime.

“Terror,” the son of Ramón Isaza Arango, a notorious co-founder of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), followed in his father’s footsteps to become a prominent figure in Colombia’s criminal underworld. His death marks the culmination of an extensive manhunt that involved years of intelligence gathering and coordination between international agencies and Colombian security forces.

The operation that led to Isaza’s death took place at 1:00 p.m on Saturday, as a team of special forces raided one of his two rural properties in the remote Las Mercedes area of Puerto Triunfo. Although police initially intended to capture Isaza alive, the operation took a deadly turn when he reportedly resisted arrest, leading to his death in a shootout. Alongside Isaza, five other armed members of the Gulf Clan were killed, signaling a severe blow to the group’s operational capabilities.

General Carlos Triana, director of the Colombian National Police, described the operation as “the most important” strike against the Gulf Clan since the capture of the group’s former leader, Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel,” in October 2021. “After alias Otoniel, this case is the most significant in disrupting the Gulf Clan’s expansion,” stated General Triana, emphasizing the importance of the raid in curtailing the clan’s power. “We have struck a major blow to their operations in the Magdalena Medio, which rely on manipulating local communities through violence and control over key territories.”

Isaza’s death comes at a time when the Gulf Clan has been aggressively expanding its influence in Colombia’s drug trade, particularly in the Magdalena Medio region, a key area for both cocaine production and trafficking. Over the past few years, the group has entrenched itself in illegal activities, from narcotrafficking and extortion to money laundering, fueling the escalating violence in parts of Colombia. Isaza’s role in these operations had made him one of the most wanted criminals in the country, with the Attorney General’s Office issuing a warrant for 33 separate investigations, including 30 charges of forced disappearance, homicide and recruitment of minors.

Growing up in the shadow of Pablo Escobar and with 35 years of experience in illicit activities, Isaza built an extensive illegal fortune. The police revealed that he had amassed vast assets, including farms, vehicles, and properties, which are valued at COP$50 billion (US$12.5 million). Among his holdings were 13 apartments, 15 cabins, 19 plots of land, two businesses, 18 vehicles, and more than 1,200 head of cattle. These assets were part of his well-organized criminal empire, which spanned across Antioquia and the Magdalena Medio region.

General Triana emphasized that this operation would have a long-lasting impact on the Gulf Clan’s operations. “This is a critical victory for the Colombian state, not just because we eliminated a key figure in the Gulf Clan, but because we disrupted their financial network,” Triana noted. The wealth and property accumulated by Isaza reflect the extent of the Gulf Clan’s criminal operations, which have been deeply embedded in Colombia’s illicit economies. According to law enforcement, Isaza played a key role in financing the Gulf Clan’s expansion through his involvement in narcotrafficking, extortion, and illegal gold mining. “

The operation that led to Isaza’s death was supported by intelligence from U.S. and U.K. agencies, marking a new level of international cooperation in Colombia’s war on drugs. Over the years, both countries have provided critical support to Colombia’s police and military, sharing intelligence on complex criminal networks and drug routes.

Despite the immediate success of the operation, Isaza’s death marks the end of the paramilitary violence and narcotrafficking expertise that had enabled him to build a criminal empire spanning several regions of Colombia, spreading violence and fear in rural communities.

President Gustavo Petro expressed on social media his take on the death of Isaza. “I feel sorrow that the son of a paramilitary who made peace is once again in arms and has died under them, supported by the landowners of the region,” he said. “The new armed group of paramilitaries had already killed several members of the Historic Pact in the region. This is a highly significant result.”

Although Colombia’s security forces continue to make headway against organized crime, the Gulf Clan’s reach extends along the country’s Caribbean coast, as well as the departments of Chocó and Antioquia. The Clan is also known to control human trafficking routes in the Darien Gap rainforest. “Our path remains one of peace and life,” Petro declared with news of Izasa’s death. “Narcotrafficking only brings death and destruction. The end of figures like ‘Terror’ is a necessary step toward a future where peace and prosperity prevail,” noted the country’s leftist leader.