Spanish police arrested a Colombian national in Madrid on 23 July 2026 during Operación Iberia, in connection with a 2025 kidnapping and murder investigation in Colombia. Authorities identified him as Alejandro Cardona Hernández, known by the alias “Cripiliano,” and associate him with the criminal organization Cordillera. He was detained without resistance in the Usera district after Colombian authorities sought his arrest internationally. They allege he took part in the abduction and killing of a young man in Pereira, with torture also alleged. Pereira is in the department of Risaralda.
Information from Colombia’s Ministry of the Interior, the suspect fled the country shortly after the crime and entered Spain in July 2025. He regularized his immigration status and found work with an excavation company. He settled in Madrid with his family. The case centers on the disappearance of Brahian Bernardo Bedoya Montoya, known as El Rapero, who vanished on 11 June 2025 after telling his girlfriend about a promising job offer. Investigators believe members of the Los Rebeldes gang targeted him because they suspected he had ties to the rival group La Cordillera.
Bedoya Montoya was reportedly abducted and tortured before being strangled with a rope. His body was buried in Dosquebradas and remained undiscovered for three months, until a witness led authorities to the grave. Three suspects were identified in connection with the killing. Two were arrested in Pereira in July 2025, while the third fled to Spain. An Interpol Red Notice was issued as part of the international search before the Madrid arrest.
A Red Notice asks law-enforcement agencies to locate a person and may seek provisional arrest pending extradition. It is not an international arrest warrant or a determination of guilt. The Audiencia Nacional, Spain’s National Court, will consider extradition. If convicted in Colombia, the suspect faces a potential sentence of up to 60 years. The case is one of a broader set of international investigations linked to Pereira: El Tiempo reported that at least 19 people were involved in proceedings connected to international requests during 2026. The cases covered alleged narcotics trafficking and homicide. Others involved money laundering, while separate proceedings concerned extortion, sexual offenses or migrant smuggling. Those cases concern different investigations and do not imply a connection among all the individuals involved. Similar cross-border police operations have recently made headlines in Spain, including a coordinated crackdown on Venezuelan gang activity in León, detailed in a recent report on a violent home invasion.
Spain’s ties to Latin America make cooperation between its law enforcement and judicial authorities and their regional counterparts a recurring feature of cross-border cases. The Madrid arrest followed an international request associated with the Interpol notice. Extradition proceedings are a separate judicial process from the investigation and any criminal trial in Colombia. Authorities in both countries will follow the National Court’s decision as the case proceeds.
