'Comba' Cuts a Deal and the Rastrojos Lose Ground
The group has rapidly expanded since 2008, when Comba took over the organization after killing his boss -- and Rastrojos' founder -- Wilber Varela, in Venezuela. Comba's play to take over the criminal group was backed by the Rastrojos' military leader, Diego Perez Henao, alias " Diego Rastrojo ," and another one of Colombia's most powerful traffickers, Daniel Barrera, alias " El Loco ." The alliance with Loco Barrera allowed the Rastrojos to move away from their traditional base along the Pacific coast, and consolidate territory on the other side of the country, on the frontier with Venezuela. They now have presence in at least 13 of Colombia's 32 departments.
However, Comba quickly moved up the list of priorities for both US and Colombian law enforcement as his power and influence grew. Working with the Colombian police, the DEA began to target "Los Combas," a faction of the Rastrojos led by Comba and his brothers. A series of arrests of key Los Combas operatives not only weakened Comba himself, but the influence of the Rastrojos. In June 2011, Carlos Hugo Garcia, alias "Chocolate," was captured. He supervised Los Combas enforcers and assassins, based in Cali. His arrest was so damaging that the Rastrojos planned to break him out of prison, although details of the operation were leaked to authorities and Garcia was moved. Then in March 2012, Comba's brother, Juan Carlos Calle Serna, alias "Armando," was captured in Ecuador .
