Daneidy Barrera Rojas, widely known as “Epa Colombia,” was transferred from a special detention facility in Bogotá to La Picaleña penitentiary in Ibagué in early August 2026. The move followed disciplinary complaints and came amid a broader government push to relocate high-profile inmates to more tightly controlled facilities. Allegations reported in connection with Barrera include access to beauty treatments and mistreatment of guards and fellow inmates. Another reported breach involved a selfie taken inside her detention area, where mobile phones are prohibited. The image was reportedly shared on social media, prompting an internal review. She was also said to have received a lawyer’s visit in an area where phones were not allowed.
Barrera is serving a sentence of 63 months and 15 days, about five years and two months, for events during Bogotá’s protests on November 22, 2019. In January 2025, the Supreme Court of Justice convicted her of aggravated damage to property and disrupting public collective or official transport services. The court also found her guilty of incitement to commit crimes for terrorist purposes. The case stemmed from videos showing her damaging infrastructure at a TransMilenio station. The transfer to La Picaleña did not change her sentence or authorize her release.
EL TIEMPO reported that previous efforts to transfer Barrera over disciplinary issues had been blocked by interventions during Gustavo Petro’s presidency. The same newspaper had reported the arrival of luxury vehicles and alleged gifts for her, claims her legal team denied. The transfer took place as President Abelardo De La Espriella’s government pursued a wider relocation policy. La Silla Vacía reported that De La Espriella had announced plans to move 117 high-profile inmates to maximum-security prisons before his August 7 inauguration. Media accounts put the number of inmates moved during the period at about 400. Those figures provide national context for the transfer, but do not by themselves establish that Barrera’s relocation was part of a specific operation.
On September 30, 2026, a judge approved a reparation agreement between Barrera and TransMilenio. It provides for a payment of 100 million Colombian pesos and the production of about 55 videos on civic conduct, care for the transport system and fare evasion prevention. The agreement does not automatically grant house arrest or freedom. Nor does it alter the sentence; any change to her status remains subject to the competent judicial and penitentiary authorities.
The broader policy continued with a separate operation announced on October 20, 2026, when De La Espriella said 91 inmates had been transferred from four cities. Authorities reported 41 transfers from Montería and 46 from Sincelejo, with two each from Cartagena and Barranquilla. They presented the operation as a response to the discovery of items that could allow illegal activity from prison. In Girón, Santander, prison officials and the GAULA police unit seized a SIM card, 5.58 grams of a plant-based substance, a battery and a data cable. The transfers also involved people connected to high-profile corruption and political-violence cases. Among them were Olmedo López and Sneyder Pinilla, sent to La Picota, and former paramilitary Juan Guillermo Monsalve, transferred to Cómbita. De La Espriella described the policy with the words, “Se acabaron los privilegios” (“Privileges are over”).
La Picaleña, in Ibagué, is described in coverage of Barrera’s transfer as a maximum-security prison. Her case has become part of a wider debate in Colombia over prison discipline and the consistent treatment of high-profile inmates. The reparation agreement has not established a public release date, and the 63-month-and-15-day sentence remains the applicable legal structure unless a competent authority issues a subsequent decision. Similar questions about legal process and public scrutiny have arisen in other countries, including when US activist Fergie Chambers faced extradition proceedings in Spain. Colombia’s prison system also continues to face overcrowding and security challenges.
