A Colombian woman who lost her husband at the hands of a local crime boss, spent years planning her revenge, seducing him and gathering evidence to have him arrested for multiple crimes.
In what sounds like the script of a Hollywood blockbuster, a Colombian woman managed to do what the police and the military could not – avenge the death of her husband and bring a dangerous criminal to justice. The unnamed woman was hailed as a hero by police and journalists in Cordoba, Colombia, after spending years getting close to a cunning criminal and gathering enough evidence to have them prosecuted. But she was no crime fighter, just a grieving widow getting revenge on the man who had had her husband assassinated years before.
Rubén Darío Viloria Barrios posed as a respectable merchant in the town of Ciénaga de Oro and most of those who knew him described him as a deeply religious man who preached the word of God. But behind the scenes, he was ‘Juancho’, a criminal mastermind who orchestrated the shipment of narcotics to Central America and the United States, ordered assassination attempts against rivals and even former collaborators and trafficked firearms and ammunition. Because he kept a very low profile and didn’t actively participate in criminal activities, Juancho managed to keep the authorities at bay, but there were people who knew about his illegal dealings. Among these few was a woman whose husband the ruthless crime lord had ordered a hit against, for reasons that have not been made public. After mourning her husband, the woman reportedly started infiltrating Juancho’s social circles, slowly getting close to him and eventually getting him to fall in love with her.
Viloria Barrios eventually grew to trust the woman so much that he shared information about his criminal dealings, which she then turned over to the authorities. Police had been suspecting him since 2020, but without enough evidence to convict him, they were powerless to act. With the information provided by Juancho’s confidant, authorities were able to build a rock-solid case against him.
The woman who set up Rubén Darío Viloria Barrios to be arrested reportedly told police that he would be attending a meeting with other criminals in Monteria, and the Special Operations Group of the National Police managed to capture him in what was called the Corona operation. Wanted by Interpol, Juancho now faces decades of prison time.
