The eccentricities of ‘Falcón’: ostentatious businessman accused of being a drug dealer of Clan del Golfo

Juan José Valencia was captured on May 22 in the midst of the Agamemnon II police operation, the special group that persecutes the Clan del Golfo, a result which according to the authorities directly affected the leadership of the armed group because alias Falcón or Andrea, as identified, was one of the closest to Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias Otoniel.

Alias ​​Falcón was primarily responsible for the armed group’s drug trafficking operations, the main source of funding for Otoniel’s war, with monthly revenues exceeding 60 billion pesos.

This power in drug trafficking, By controlling the routes from Cartagena de Indias to Belgium, the Netherlands, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic, in addition to having under his orders more than 225 members of this criminal organization, he made it a of the main members of the Gulf Clan, according to the authorities.

However, Juan José Valencia Zuluaga led a civilian life, as a powerful businessman, which has led his friends and colleagues in the entertainment business to believe that his capture is a judicial misunderstanding, as they doubt they have lived with a dangerous person such as the criminal profile shown by the authorities.

According to the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, alias Falcón has succeeded, through millionaire illicit profits, in building up an important heritage and in maintaining eccentricities that The investigating entity owns up to 30 high-end vehicles, of different brands, and a condominium in Llano Grande (Antioquia) of over 9,000 square meters.

The capture took place at this farm, where Valencia Zuluaga was found with two rifles, one submachine gun, nine pistols, three revolvers, three shotguns, 35 vendors, three telescopic sights, a submachine gun adapter, three cannons and a night viewer. Likewise, 14 luxury vehicles were found, with a preliminary estimate of around 6,000 million pesos.

According to an investigation by the newspaper El Tiempo, the so-called Falcón traveled to Llano Grande aboard these vehicles, with friends having the same taste for high-end cars, He even walked with 15 bodyguards who carried long and short weapons.

According to this newspaper, some of the vehicles seized during the capture operation belonged to friends of his luxurious car rides, who had requested a garage service and are now seeking to collect their cars. One of these Ferraris would be that of a businessman who lives in the municipality of Chía, Cundinamarca.

Regarding weapons, the investigation indicates, Juan José Velandia was involved in a corruption scandal within the Army’s Fourth Brigade in Antioquia, in which illegal payments were allegedly collected for the processing of safe conduct. However, the defense of the aforementioned drug trafficker ensured that he was one of the plaintiffs in this situation and obtained his licenses.

Some of the cars seized belong to companies in which Velandia is said to have investments. According to the Meteo, It owns a stake in Acyonex SAS and Zambia Natural SAS, Global DH SAS and the San Ángel dairy, among others with which it emerges as an investor.

However, the authorities point out that his criminal activities date back more than 11 years, previously he was a subordinate of the pseudonym “Harry” or José Aníbal Granda, who after being captured gave way to his rise in the criminal ladder. In 2019, the police and the military reportedly appointed him as the head of the organization, but thanks to the tutelage, he managed to have his photo removed from the poster.

The Prosecutor charged him with conspiracy to commit aggravated crimes for the purposes of trafficking, manufacturing or transporting narcotics; money laundering; and the manufacture, trafficking and carrying of arms and ammunition for restricted use, for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces or of explosives. According to the newspaper, He would not have directly imputed drug trafficking charges to him to allow the investigation of the DEA, which would already have its eyes riveted on the accused person.

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