SUMMARY
La Terraza was a Colombian organized crime group based in Medellin city and operated in other neighboring cities and municipalities in the department of Antioquia. It emerged in the 1980s, alongside the expansion of Medellin´s narcotrafficking economy. The group took its name from a billiard hall in Manrique neighborhood in Medellin, where early criminal activities were concentrated. Besides its involvement in organized violence, activities associated withLa Terraza include forced displacement, extortion, drug trafficking, and forced recruitment. La Terraza has also provided “criminal services” (e.g. collection of drug trafficking debts) for a range of other criminal structures such as Cali Cartel, Majaca, Los Pepes, Castaño Gil´s brothers, Colombia sin Guerrilla, and other narcotraffickers in Cali.
La Terraza was known as one of Medellin´s oldest and most enduring criminal organizations. The group was highly structured and able to mobilize more than 300 members, including former militiamen, career criminals, and former police officers. Its criminal capacity reportedly increased in the early 1990s when it was used and financed within Pablo Escobar´s criminal structure. During the conflict between Medellin and Cali cartels, and the emergence of Los Pepes, La Terraza parted ways with Escobar and entered an alliance with heads of the paramilitary structure United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano, alias “Don Berna”, and the Castaño brothers. Following Escobar´s death, a subsequent rupture and violent confrontations with the AUC, , contributed to further reconfiguration, including some members leaving the group for another organized crime group “La Oficina de Embigado”. In the period following the AUC demobilization process (2004-2006), La Terraza has reasserted influence within Medellin´s criminal structures.
More recently, La Terraza reportedly operated through a hierarchical structure with defined leadership roles and delegated responsibilities. A prominent leader was José Leonardo Muñoz, alias “Douglas”, Medellín-based and linked to the “Oficina de Envigado” and La Terraza. Alias “Douglas” was captured in 2009 and sentenced to 32 years for crimes including kidnapping, extortion, among others. In 2019, its main leader, Mauricio Alberto Zapata Orozco, alias “Chicho” who was the right-hand man of alias “Douglas”, was reported captured in a police operation and sentenced to six years of imprisonment.
La Terraza was reported to generate revenue from multiple illicit activities, including drug trafficking, extortion, debt collection, contract killings, management of prostitution markets, and the illegal sale of land parcels, among others. Some investigative reporting has also raised allegations of relationships with public officials and political actors and has referenced claims linking the group to other high-profile crimes, including linkages with the former Medellin Security Secretary and its participation in the murder of journalist Jaime Garzon.
In 2025, La Terraza was included in the government´s Urban Peace Table process with organized crime groups from Medellin and the Valle de Aburrá. Alias “Douglas”, leader of La Terraza, was recognized as a principal spokesperson in that dialogue. In April 2026, this dialogue was reported suspended.
La Terraza has been involved in the non-state category of UCDP organized violence.
