A significant enforcer in the Colombian drug cartel was nabbed in Spain on Sunday and faces 400 counts of murder.
Hernán Alonso Villa, better known as El Ratón or “The Mouse,” was nabbed on his way a safe houses in south-eastern Spain carrying $50,000 in cash. He is currently in Madrid awaiting extradition to Colombia.
Police say Villa, 40, is the leader of a network of 200 drug traffickers and hitmen responsible for importing cocaine into Spain, the Netherlands and the US.
Spanish and Colombian authorities worked together to catch up with Villa, who was constantly on the move.
Rodolfo Palomino, the Colombian chief of police, said “El Ratón was arrested thanks to the work of our people and the Spanish authorities. Along with Carlos Esneider Quintero, alias Gomelo, Villa committed serious crimes in Medellín, in particular murders, disappearances, extortions and kidnappings. He then went to Europe seeking to continue his activities in drug dealing and coordinating trafficking routes.”
Investigators believe “The Mouse” managed the military wing of the Oficina de Envigado – a violent drug gang/cartel named after a small Colombian village. Oficina de Envigado grew out of the Medellín drug cartel led by the late and infamous Pablo Escobar.
Villa faces charges of drug smuggling, extortion and people trafficking in addition to the 400 counts of murder.