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28th March 2023
11:46am BST
A woman whose husband died got the ultimate revenge on the man she blamed for it.
In a plot straight out of the movies, the woman, who has not been named to protect her identity, reportedly made a drug trafficker fall in love with her, so she could help do what authorities couldn't - gather enough evidence to put him away.
Rubén Darío Viloria Barrios, also known as 'Juancho', had a red warning against him due to his crimes, but according to El Tiempo, was able to operate within Montería, the capital of the country's Cordoba region, as well as the subregion of Uraba, by feigning a love for God and the church.
Law enforcement officials later caught on to his involvement in a drugs and crime network linked to extortion and murders, but couldn't get close enough to him to build a case and arrest him.
The grieving widow has been hailed a hero by local authorities and media after spending several years getting close to the criminal to find out enough about his networks and operations so police could build a rock-solid case.
Columbia Police told local media that the accused "has a criminal record of more than 10 years, making himself known for his warlike capacity in coordinating attacks against the Public Force".
Barrios, using speedboats, was said to have shipped drugs through Central America before reaching the US, moving up to 1.5 tonnes of cocaine a month.
He was also linked to the 2018 murders of two police officers in the town of Puerto Valdivia.
El Tiempo reported that the narco was also blamed for "killing the woman's partner", leading her to seek revenge.
The woman was said to have got close to Barrios and was able to obtain evidence of his crimes, which she then turned over to police.
Police had been suspecting him since 2020, but without enough evidence to convict him, they were powerless to act.
After several months, she organised to meet Barrios in Montería where authorities apprehended him.
An arrest warrant was issued for manufacturing, trafficking and carrying weapons and ammunition for restricted and exclusive use of the armed forces or explosives, along with suspicion of trafficking, manufacturing and possession of drugs.
Colonel Gabriel García said: "This operational result generates a structural blow to transnational drug trafficking networks, fracturing their connections and coordination for international drug trafficking," he said.
The drug lord was sentenced to 22 years in prison
