La Picota Seizure Exposes State's Prison Control Gap

A search of Bogotá’s La Picota prison on Nov. 3 found 582 cellphones, 3,754 SIM cards, 38 modems and six Starlink antennas spread across 19 prison wings. The seizure puts the state’s prison controls under scrutiny, but it doesn’t establish who brought the equipment inside, who could use it or whether it was connected to extortion.

The search also found makeshift weapons, drugs, cash and electronic accessories. Investigators still have to establish where the equipment was installed, whether it was operational and what its communications show. Possession alone proves neither who used the devices nor a link to a crime.

What the seizure does—and doesn’t—show

Colombia reported 13,428 extortion cases in 2025, compared with 9,791 in 2022, according to an analysis by the National Planning Department (DNP) and Asocapitales, an association of major cities. The country reported 3,936 cases in the first four months of 2026, an 8% increase over the same period in 2025. The DNP cited a police estimate that nearly 70% of extortion calls originate in prisons. That estimate concerns the origin of calls, not the proportion of all extortion cases committed nationwide.

From January 2025 through July 15, 2026, the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) processed 73,670 records supplied by the GAULA anti-kidnapping and anti-extortion police units, the National Police and the armed forces. Phone companies identified 14,097 calls originating in prisons and associated with possible extortion cases—about 25 calls a day over the period. INPEC cautioned that reports can’t establish the true scale of the problem or whether prison extortion has risen or fallen.

INPEC formally asked mobile carriers to block 9,967 records linked to extortion. Under Decree 851 of 2024, it submitted 14,668 blocking requests: 7,951 for devices identified by IMEI numbers and 6,737 for phone lines or SIM cards. INPEC said it doesn’t have enough staff to review data and issue orders promptly. It also said telecommunications provider ETB had yet to confirm certain requests from January 2026.

A vast haul, unanswered questions

INPEC figures disclosed in response to a request from a member of Colombia’s House of Representatives show the agency seized 47,339 mobile devices in 2025 and another 25,166 through July 15, 2026. INPEC said phones enter prisons when people throw them over perimeter walls, hide them in packages or bring them during visiting hours. It also reported individual employees’ involvement in bringing devices inside in specific cases. The total doesn’t mean every phone was used for extortion; it does show the scale of the security gap.

In January 2026, the Justice Ministry said more than 21,500 operations conducted during 2025 led to the seizure of 34,800 phones and 33,200 SIM cards. The ministry also reported separate totals for Operation Domino, a prison security initiative that began in 2023. Those figures can’t simply be added together without knowing whether they overlap.

Earlier cases give investigators leads, not answers about the latest seizure. In December 2025, police reported arrests and charges in a digital extortion investigation involving La Picota and El Buen Pastor. Authorities said the group used fake online profiles, threats and digital payments, and police said a former INPEC employee operated a criminal call center from La Picota. The report says that case is separate and doesn’t identify who was behind the equipment found on Nov. 3.

Oversight isn’t the same as proof

In September 2026, Bogotá’s city government, citing prosecutors, described another alleged network at La Picota. Investigators examined more than 631,000 financial transactions and attributed more than 4.9 billion pesos, approximately US$1.54 million, in proceeds to the organization. The allegations remain a separate case to be resolved in court.

Colombia’s House of Representatives called on the government in September to report concrete results on Decree 851 and questioned how many prisons had operational signal-blocking systems. Its committee said it would continue monitoring until there was evidence that extortion calls had fallen. Monitoring and requests for reports are not evidence that the controls work.

Blocking an IMEI or SIM can disable an identified device or line, but people committing crimes can switch phones, numbers or methods. Signal jammers also need careful calibration: networks near prisons may serve nearby communities, and the government has acknowledged that restrictions must avoid disrupting residents’ service. Testing, audits and coordination with telecommunications providers remain necessary.

President Abelardo de la Espriella wrote on X, “Se acabó la guachafita”—roughly, “the free-for-all is over”—and said prisons can’t serve as criminal command centers. Hugo Acero, Bogotá’s former security secretary, called on authorities to identify and prosecute anyone who enabled the devices to enter or be used. The report describes that as a call for accountability, not proof of complicity. Investigators still have to establish whether there was deliberate assistance, negligence or procedural failure, while authorities clarify how controls were applied across all 19 wings.