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Los Rastrojos is a Colombian drug trafficking paramilitary organization engaged in the Colombian armed conflict. The group was formed by Norte del Valle cartel capo Wilber Varela, alias "Jabon" and one of his right-hand men, "Diego Rastrojo", around 2004 when Varela fell out with fellow-capo Diego Leon Montoya, alias "Don Diego". The group became independent after the murder of its main founder in Venezuela in 2008 and has since become one of the most important drug trafficking organization in Colombia. The group funds itself primarily by trafficking cocaine, marijuana and heroin, and illegal gold mining, thus taking advantage of high gold prices in 2010 and 2011.〔Simon Romero, ''New York Times'', 3 March 2011, (In Colombia, New Gold Rush Fuels Old Conflict )〕 Los Rastrojos are, together with the Norte del Valle cartel, considered the "heirs" of the Cali cartel. Other reports allege Los Rastrojos are in fact the same as the Norte del Valle cartel, only working under a new name and taking advantage 'of a strong network of assassins, distributors and contacts in the international markets'. the group focuses on buying coca from the source, processing it themselves and selling it wholesale for international distribution or shipping it themselves through Central America and Mexico. They are believed to operate mainly in Valle del Cauca and Cali, although there are reports of them spreading their zone of influence to other parts of Colombia and western Venezuela. Membership is estimated at 1,200 to 1,500 fighters and hitmen. Several members of Los Rastrojos have been killed or arrested in Venezuela by the Venezuelan armed forces. The expansion of the group under the brothers Javier Antonio and Luis Enrique Calle Serna, both referred to as "Comba," has been exponential. Since 2009, it has left its traditional hub along the Pacific Coast and now operates in a third of Colombia's 32 departments. The Rastrojos, who take their name from one of their militia leaders, are primarily engaged in exporting cocaine and heroin to international markets. At the local level, they are also involved in extortion and kidnapping. The Rastrojos move drugs primarily up the Pacific Coast to Central America and Mexico where they sell it to Mexican drug traffickers who take it to the United States. They also have control of one of the primary smuggling routes into Venezuela, which is a bridge for cocaine moving towards Europe and northwards into the US on aircraft and go-fast boats. ==Origins== "The Rastrojos started in 2002, as the armed wing for Wilber Varela, alias "Jabon." At the time, Varela was fighting a rival in the Norte Del Valle Cartel, Diego Montoya, alias "Don Diego," and Montoya's private army, the "Machos." Varela lieutenant Diego Pérez Henao, alias "Diego Rastrojo recruited its first members, hence the group took on his name."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Los Rastrojos」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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