Ramiro Herrera Buitrago, alias “Don R,” has offered information on more than 1,000 assets allegedly linked to the former Cali cartel, proposing that property recovered by the Colombian state help fund reconstruction after the Aug. 10, 2026, earthquake.
In a letter to Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella, Herrera said he had delivered an inventory of properties and alleged front men to the Colombian Attorney General’s Office. The list reportedly covers Colombia, the United States, Panama, Venezuela and Ecuador and includes rural and urban properties, commercial premises, companies and financial investments. The Attorney General’s Office has not publicly confirmed that it has verified the complete inventory.
The offer emerged after the Attorney General’s Office imposed precautionary measures on 42 assets linked to the Herrera network, with a preliminary valuation exceeding 44.9 billion Colombian pesos, approximately US$14.1 million at recent exchange rates. The measures form part of an investigation into property allegedly concealed or managed through individuals and companies.
According to the National Unit for Disaster Risk Management (UNGRD), its Oct. 9 report recorded 335 deaths, 4,516 injuries and 103 people missing after the earthquake. The agency also reported 36,478 homes destroyed and 206,931 damaged.
What Herrera’s inventory contains
The inventory Herrera says he delivered includes farms, houses, apartments, commercial premises and companies. It reportedly identifies individuals and legal entities who allegedly managed the assets or helped conceal their ownership.
Herrera maintains that the information could help investigators trace property and financial transactions associated with the former cartel. Records of company ownership, investment structures and property transfers could give prosecutors leads to compare with existing investigations and official databases. Because the list reportedly includes assets in five countries, it could also require cooperation with foreign authorities.
The 42 assets already under precautionary measures are central to a dispute over how investigators identified the properties. Herrera claims his cooperation helped uncover them and says his information could prove decisive in future cases. The Attorney General’s Office, however, attributes the measures to its own financial tracing, which identified property allegedly concealed, transformed and managed through companies and individuals.
Investigators have identified activity involving real estate, construction, finance, hospitality, aviation, agriculture, currency exchange and gambling. The inquiry concerns alleged methods of concealing or managing assets; it does not establish that every business or person associated with these sectors participated in criminal activity.
Who is Ramiro Herrera Buitrago?
Herrera is a former member of the Cali Cartel and the brother of Helmer Francisco Herrera Buitrago, alias “Pacho Herrera,” one of the organization’s prominent figures.
He served a 12-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking and returned to Colombia in 2012. Colombian authorities arrested him in 2016 amid allegations that he sought to regain control of assets associated with his brother and formed alliances with the criminal organization then known as the Clan Usuga.
Investigators also accused him of links to killings and forced displacement. Those allegations are distinct from his drug-trafficking conviction.
His background is relevant to the current offer because he claims to possess information about assets and the people who allegedly managed them. Prosecutors must assess that information against evidence gathered independently before relying on it in further proceedings.
Could recovered assets help earthquake-hit communities?
The magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck western Colombia on Aug. 10, with its epicenter near San Jose del Palmar in Choco. Its effects extended across multiple departments, damaging homes, public buildings and essential infrastructure.
Herrera has proposed that the state direct assets it ultimately recovers from the network toward social programs and reconstruction. Colombia’s Law 1708 of 2014 governs extincion de dominio, the legal process through which the state can seek forfeiture of property connected to unlawful activities. The Special Assets Society (SAE) administers assets under the applicable legal framework.
Any allocation would depend on the outcome of proceedings involving individual properties and the rules governing their administration and use. Assets abroad could present additional challenges because investigators may need foreign assistance to establish ownership and pursue forfeiture.
What happens next?
Prosecutors’ assessment will determine whether Herrera’s inventory leads to new investigative steps. Public reporting has not established that they have verified the full list or announced additional precautionary measures against the assets it identifies.
The government’s response to Herrera’s proposed social allocation also remains unclear. The key question is whether investigators validate the inventory, identify further property that can be pursued through legal proceedings and ultimately recover assets eligible for public use.