US State Department Puts Up Millions in Reward Money to Help Capture Clan del Golfo Leaders Involved in Human Smuggling

The United States Department of State recently announced that it is offering millions of dollars in reward money for information that helps the law enforcement agency pursue cases against Clan del Golfo leaders involved in human smuggling in the migrant corridor of the Darién region between Colombia and Panama.

The Colombian armed group, which alternatively is referred to as the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia – AGC) or just the Gaitanistas, have been the largest belligerent force operating widely in the Pacific and western Caribbean region for years, with a hand in a wide range of criminal activities, including drug trafficking, illegal mining, extortion, and generally exerting influence on smuggling and migrant routes.

Specifically, those who provide valuable information can earn millions under these three reward offers, as publicized by the State Department:

1. up to $2 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any key leader of Clan del Golfo involved in human smuggling in the Darién
2. up to $1 million for information leading to the disruption of financial mechanisms of the Clan del Golfo to finance, sustain, or support human smuggling operations in the Darién
3. up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of any key leader of Clan del Golfo involved in human smuggling in the Darién by encouraging and inducing aliens to enter the United States resulting in death [in violation of Title 8, U.S. Code, sections 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and 1324(a)(1)(B)(iv)]

“Today’s three reward offers support law enforcement efforts in Colombia, Panama, and the United States to disrupt the exploitive treatment of migrants from all over the world who seek passage through the Darién region,” noted the State Departement.

The agency added that information and tips can be submitted to the Homeland Security Investigations and the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by calling (866) 347-2423 (toll free) or by submitting online at www.ice.gov/tips.

The incentives to provide information fall within the State Department’s “anti-smuggling rewards initiative” within the wider Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program (TOCRP), according to the US agency.

Photo: US Department of State headquarters in Washington DC. (Photo credit: AgnosticPreachersKid)