Wild Video Shows Escaped Colombian Drug Lord Just Strolling Out of Prison

A top Colombian narco escaped prison by walking out of the front door wearing a guard’s uniform. Juan Larinson Castro Estupiñán, known as “Matamba,” officials believe, might have had help on the inside. 

Matamba is considered the second-most powerful drug-trafficker in Colombia after Dario Antonio Usuga “Otoniel”, who was arrested in October last year. 

A video from the prison’s security cameras which was shared on Twitter shows Matamba’s escape. 

During the first few seconds an open gate is seen without any guards around. Subtitles added to the video say “Inspector Jiménez left for a few minutes and came back in through that gate, and left it unlocked.” The next scene shows a man who authorities identify as Matamba dressed as a prison guard walking across the main hallway. After having a quick look around, he leaves through the main door. 

A few days before his escape last week, a Colombian judge green-lit Matamba’s  extradition to the U.S, according to local reporting. He’s wanted there to face charges that he is the main connection in Colombia for the Mexican Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG for its Spanish acronym).

He was being held in a special cell block where criminals due to be extradited wait their turn, mostly for their transportation to the U.S.

Matamba has been in prison 14 times, according to local news. In 2005, for example, he was apprehended for alleged guerrilla group activity and released some years later to be recaptured again in 2016. A couple of years later, he was freed, again, only to be recaptured, again, in May 2021 on homicide, extortion and drug trafficking charges. 

During his latest arrest in May 2021, Colombian authorities also found two gold bars, seven luxury watches encrusted with diamonds and $12,500 at the scene. 

Following Matamba’s escape, authorities arrested the head of Colombia’s penitentiary system for “leaving the door open from where Matamba escaped using clothes exclusive to prison guards.”

“This man is the main exporter of cocaine … via the Colombian Pacific Ocean with a final destination with the Mexican cartel ‘Nueva Generación’,” said Colombia’s General Attorney’s Office in a press release. 

Yesterday, Colombian authorities announced a reward for information leading to Matamba’s arrest, set at around $500,000, and put out an Interpol alert for him to be captured anywhere in the world. 

Authorities believe Matamba struck a deal with his superior, Dario Antonio Usuga, “Otoniel,” to use his routes to ship drugs to the U.S., as well as to create an opening to replace his old business partner in the Clan del Golfo criminal organization.  

Last year, Colombia’s President Iván Duque compared Otoniel’s capture to that of drug kingpin Pablo Escobar nearly thirty years ago. With Matamba now on the loose, Colombia’s criminal landscape could get shaken up once again.