SUMMARY
The Autodefensas Conquistadores de la Sierra Nevada / Conquering Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN), also known as Los Pachenca, was an organized crime group based in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and its surrounding corridors in the Colombian Caribbean region. The group operated across strategic areas in 14 municipalities in Magdalena, La Guajira and Cesar departments, with activities centered on extortion, territorial control, and drug-trafficking, including control over maritime routes along the Caribbean coast.
ACSN was the product of an evolution of armed groups that have expanded to consolidate a broader paramilitary network since 1986. Their more recent origins are traced back to the AUC’s Resistencia Tayrona Front, which demobilized in 2006. This AUC front was led by Hernan Giraldo (alias “El Patron” and “El Taladro”), a paramilitary commander who was extradited to United States in 2008. Despite the AUC demobilization and Giraldo´s extradition, a family-based criminal network associated with Giraldo (also referred to as La Oficina del Caribe, Los Leales a Giraldo or Los Giraldo), consolidated influence over criminal governance structures and illegal economies in the region.
The ACSN’s predecessor, Los Pachenca, emerged in 2012 as an armed wing of this Giraldo-linked network, protecting its interests, enforcing extortion, and securing trafficking corridors. That same year, they reportedly entered into violent competition with the EGC over control of drug-trafficking routes and strategic territory. Following this confrontation, the groups formed an alliance in 2013, led by alias “Chucho Mercancia” or “Chucho Pachenca”, a former EGC commander who was killed in 2019. His death weakened the structure, contributed to the breakdown of the alliance that same year, and reopened armed disputes with the EGC.
After 2019, the group underwent internal reorganization and consolidated under their new name “Autodefensas Conquistadoras de la Sierra Nevada” as leadership roles and areas of influence were redefined. Hernan Giraldo´s nephew, Deimer Patiño Giraldo, alias “80” was the early leader during this phase, reportedly killed in a police operation about one year later. Since then, the organization has continued to compete for influence over key corridors connecting the Sierra Nevada to coastal and cross-border routes, in particular with the EGC.
In parallel to these security dynamics, in 2022, ACSN have featured in the Colombian government´s evolving “Total Peace” framework, a negotiation process with armed groups spearheaded by President Gustavo Petro. After an exploratory bilateral ceasefire (1 January – 30 June 2023), publicly reported progress remained limited and preliminary talks did not consolidate into a stable negotiation track. In August 2024, the government announced that it would launch a dialogue with the ACSN, including the recognition of four ACSN leaders (Fredy Castillo Carrillo, José Luis Pérez Villanueva, Loryin Emilio Pertuz Ballestas, and Orlando Pérez Orteg) as official “peace spokespeople” to represent the organization in this dialogue. To enable their participation, temporary suspensions of arrest warrants were established. In November 2024, the Prosecutor Office granted four-month arrest-warrant suspensions for Pérez Villanueva, Pérez Ortega and Pertuz Ballestas, with territorial limits largely covering La Guajira and Magdalena (and Bogotá for process-related travel). In April 2025, ACSN publicly announced a pause in the exploratory dialogue as the government initiated a military operation against the group, with the sides clashing in Cienaga, Magdalena that same month.
The ACSN has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.
