Overview
- Colombian negotiator Álvaro Jiménez and the group itself confirmed that José Gonzalo Sánchez Sánchez died after a capsizing on the Esmeraldas River near Tierralta, Córdoba.
- Local Indigenous community members recovered the body and turned it over to authorities, according to official and media accounts.
- Sánchez, identified as second-in-command under alias ‘Chiquito Malo,’ was sought by U.S. authorities for drug trafficking and faced multiple charges in Colombia.
- The organization said he was traveling with his security team for activities tied to Temporary Location Zones created for the Doha process, with Tierralta designated as one such site.
- The death follows the U.S. designation of the Clan del Golfo as a foreign terrorist organization in December, intensifying legal and financial pressure on a network counted in the thousands.