Police in Herveo arrested five suspects over an alleged plan to attack mayor Gina Vanessa Silva’s family. Her father, Óscar Silva, was reportedly the apparent main target. The arrests have put local officials’ security and the National Protection Unit’s threat-assessment process at the center of a case in which investigators have not identified the alleged organizers.
Police made the arrests on Thursday 1 October 2026 in Herveo, the mayor’s home town in the mountains of northern Tolima. They seized three revolvers, 12 cartridges of various calibres, five mobile phones and two motorcycles, according to Infobae. None of the suspects has been convicted. All are presumed innocent.
A judge sent the three adult suspects to prison while the case proceeds, and placed the two teenagers, aged 15 and 17, in youth detention. The minors went to youth facilities in Manizales and Ibagué. The Fiscalía, Colombia’s prosecution service, charged the adults with aggravated criminal conspiracy, aggravated illegal possession of firearms and using minors to commit crimes.
The family’s protection request
Local media reported that the alleged plan targeted Óscar Silva, who serves as the town’s “gestor social,” an unpaid position in which a mayor’s relative leads social programs. Infobae and El Diario also reported that the mayor and her wider family faced risk. “Thanks to God and the police, we were able to act in time,” Óscar Silva said, according to El Diario.
Silva asked for stronger protection. Prosecutors sought protection for him, the mayor and her younger brother, Pulzo reported. Colombia’s National Protection Unit assigns bodyguards and armored cars to officials under threat, but first assesses reported threats before deciding whether to provide protection. The family is still awaiting a decision on additional security.
Extortion complaints and the inquiry
Silva blamed a man known as alias “Tinejo,” whom he described as a long-time extortionist in northern Tolima. “He has already killed several people who dared to report him,” Silva told Tolima Stereo. Authorities arrested Andrés Felipe Arango Ríos, identified as Tinejo, in 2021 over the killing of former Herveo councillor Ovidio Salazar, Alerta Tolima reported. Arango Ríos hasn't been charged in the new case.
Police said their inquiry preliminarily points to two prisoners, La Patria reported: an alleged drug-dealing boss in northern Tolima and a person who leads a gang around the Páramo de Letras mountain pass. The arrests haven't established who ordered the alleged plan, and the information available so far doesn't connect it to a named armed group.
In July 2026, the mayor publicly denounced extortion of farmers and producers in Herveo and around the Páramo de Letras. She named Tinejo and said he “has us devastated” from prison, Q’hubo Ibagué reported. Investigators haven't established whether the alleged plan against her father was revenge for those complaints. Q’hubo said they were examining that possibility.
Threats against public leaders
The Electoral Observation Mission (MOE), an independent watchdog, counted 435 attacks on political, social and community leaders from March 2025 to March 2026. Attacks on political leaders made up 62.5% of the total and rose 12.9% compared with the previous period measured. Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, shot at a Bogotá rally in June 2025, was the best-known victim; his killing continues to shape security policy.
The Fiscalía must build its case against the five suspects and determine who sent them. The National Protection Unit will assess Óscar Silva’s request before deciding whether to assign protection. The arrests mark the start of the criminal case, not a finding about who ordered the alleged plot.