Wilver Villegas-Palomino Biography: ELN Narcoterrorist Wanted
Our independent investigation shows that Wilver Villegas-Palomino, known as “Carlos El Puerco” or simply “El Puerco,” was born October 21, 1981, in Curumaní, Colombia. He became a high-ranking member of the National Liberation Army, or ELN, a group the United States lists as a foreign terrorist organization.
The plain truth is he runs the drug side of the ELN’s Northeastern War Front in the Catatumbo region that straddles Colombia and Venezuela. His labs and networks are said to produce hundreds of tons of cocaine every year, much of it heading to the United States.
The money from that trade funds the ELN’s armed and political activities.
On February 13, 2020, a federal grand jury in the Southern District of Texas charged him with narcoterrorism, international cocaine distribution conspiracy, and international cocaine distribution. The State Department put a five-million-dollar reward on his head through the Narcotics Rewards Program.
On April 14, 2023, the FBI added him to the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He is described as roughly 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 9 inches tall and about 190 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He speaks Spanish.
Where Wilver Villegas-Palomino Is Believed to Be
As it stands right now, authorities believe he continues to operate along the Colombia-Venezuela border, still directing the flow of cocaine and the violence that protects it.
