Gener Garcia Molina, alias ‘John 40’ , is one of the most powerful criminal bosses in Colombia and, at the same time, one of the most unknown. A native of Meta, he is 60 years old and at 20 he entered the seventh front of the FARC. He has 40 processes in the Prosecutor’s Office for crimes such as terrorism, kidnapping, homicide, forced disappearance, arms trafficking and recruitment of minors.

Today, as head of the Second Marquetalia, he manages the power that money gives. In an interview given to the authorities in April 2022, a demobilized member of that criminal group told an anecdote that measures his fortune: “John is the one who brings in the most money… On one occasion I accompanied him to take regarding fourteen bundles full of one hundred dollar bills”.

‘John 40’ made a career in the eastern bloc of the FARC, where he was mentored by ‘el Negro Acacio’, the biggest drug trafficker in the history of that guerrilla. After his death in a bombing in 2007, ‘John 40’ replaced him and today the armed group he leads bears the name of his guardian in crime: the Acacio Medina front.

In 2016, when the FARC began to gather to hand over their weapons, ‘John 40’ deserted the peace process and, in February 2017, met with other guerrilla leaders in a place in Guaviare, where they planned the foundation of the dissidents.

This is how one of those present described the unprecedented details of that meeting that defined the current configuration of the war in Colombia: “The meeting lasted no more than two days and we agreed that we were following the line of the FARC and we agreed that ‘Gentil’ would be the commander… The first front would become the second front and the commander would be ‘Iván Mordisco’, and the seventh would become the first and he would manage it directly with ‘Gentil’… ‘John 40’ was in the border and would manage the border.”

In January 2019, another meeting was held at the ‘John 40’ camp in Venezuela that defined the fate of the dissidents. ‘Iván Márquez’, ‘Romaña’ and ‘el Paisa’, among other senior commanders of the former FARC who were still covered by the peace agreement, arrived there to meet ‘John 40’ himself, ‘Gentil Duarte’ and ‘ Iván Mordisco’. ‘Márquez’ and his people planned to go back to war and intended to join the dissidents. This is how one of those present recounted it:

“We started moving once more until we reached the municipality of Caicara del Orinoco in the state of Amazonas, Venezuela, to the ‘John 40’ camp… On January 23, aliases ‘John 40’, ‘lván Mordisco’, ‘Gentil Duarte’ met in the back of the house, where they lasted for regarding three hours. On the other side, where there is a meeting booth, were the subjects Arturo Ruiz or Jerónimo, ‘Romaña’, ‘el Zarco Aldinever’, ‘lván Márquez’, ‘el Paisa’, Enrique, the son of ‘Manuel Marulanda’, ‘ Nelson Robles’, where they had a private meeting. On January 24, 2019, a meeting of the main heads of the FARC general staff was held.

The merger of the two groups never took place, since ‘Iván Márquez’ was not willing to be below ‘Gentil Duarte’ in the line of command of the dissidents. But ‘John 40’ did not obey the guidelines of his group and abandoned the dissidents of ‘Gentil Duarte’. In August 2019 he appeared in a video together with ‘Márquez’, ‘Santrich’, ‘el Paisa’ and the other guerrilla leaders announcing the creation of a new armed group: the Second Marquetalia.

The two dissident groups declared a bloody war that they maintain until today, ‘John 40’ was the only boss who changed bracelets. His challenge to ‘Gentil Duarte’, who at that time was the biggest guerrilla leader in the country, shows his true power. Another proof of the criminal influence of ‘John 40’ is that the top commanders of the ELN come to his camps to negotiate agreements, according to a demobilized person:

“On February 1 and 2, Gustavo Aníbal Giraldo Quinchía, alias ‘Pablito’, and Ramiro Torres Rodríguez, alias ‘Lenin’, ELN delegates, arrived at the camp of alias ‘John 40’, accompanied by approximately 70 units… They touched on issues related to non-aggression pacts as had happened in previous years… On February 7 they discussed issues related to uniting ties between the two guerrillas with the support of the Government of Venezuela”.

In the midst of these alliances, ‘John 40’ and the Acacio Medina front established their territory between the departments of Guainía and Vichada, in Colombia, and the Venezuelan states of Amazonas and Bolívar. A report by an intelligence agent describes the operation of that criminal organization:

“(In) the armed part there were 300 fighters directed by ‘John 40’ …, the militias of the structure were made up of approximately 12 people directed by ‘Julián Chollo’, political leader of said structure… 30% of the members of this group are Venezuelan nationals… On several occasions he saw members of the GNB [Guardia Nacional Bolivariana] and DGCIM [Dirección de Contrainteligencia Militar] enter their camp areas and make contact with the leaders”.

The interest of the Acacio Medina Front in Venezuela does not end with political proselytism. In fact, what the group is looking for is to maintain control of that mineral-rich area. ‘John 40’ has built his fortune not only with drug trafficking, he also specialized in the exploitation of gold, diamonds and coltan.

Intelligence reports say that has around 50 mines under control on both sides of the border: “Currently there are approximately 50 mines between the sectors of Sipao, El Morado and El Silencio. These sectors are located on the road that leads to Maripa, a town in the Sucre municipality of Bolívar state, Venezuela, which belong to the GAO-r Acacio Medina”.

There he promotes the exploitation of coltan, the coveted mineral used in the manufacture of cell phones and other electronic devices: “Coltan, which in addition to being exploited mostly illegally, is being trafficked by the Acacio Medina front and the José Daniel Pérez Guerrero of the ELN, from mines in Vichada and in the state of Bolívar in Venezuela. In July 2021, 1.2 tons of this mineral were seized on the border with Venezuela.”

They established a corridor that passes through the Guainía and Vichada rivers, and, according to the agents, their merchandise ends up in Europe. “The smuggling route would come from Vichada, from the Parguaza river area in the states of Bolívar, Amazonas and Apure and from the Sierra del Imataca in the Amacuro Delta of the Orinoco Mining Arc in Venezuela, from there it is mobilized by river Guainia and Vichada. The final destination is buyers in Bogotá, Villavicencio or from the border area to Germany, Belgium, Kazakhstan and the United States”.

According to intelligence agents, ‘John 40′ gets paid in gold for letting illegal miners’ dredges operate: “Each mine leader was in charge of collecting the money or mineral, required from the companies in the sector, like this: for 06-cylinder engines in mining, the percentage received was 15 grams of gold; For 04-cylinder engines in mining, the percentage received was 15 grams of gold; per gold buyer who entered the area, he delivered 03 grams of gold, regardless of the amount he was acquiring”, say the intelligence reports.

In the region, The communities not only suffer the extortion of ‘John 40’ and his men, but also the violence they use to maintain territorial control. A demobilized member of the group recounts it: “I witnessed several comrades court martial who, due to bad behavior, for falling asleep on guard duty, for stealing a cigarette or for not complying with orders, were killed. On another occasion, 17 deserted from Acacio Medina, there were regarding 5 Colombians and the rest Venezuelans, the Venezuelan government took them by the sides of Puerto Ayacucho and handed them over once more. That happened no more than 20 days ago and they were all killed. Everyone who deserts is also killed. There were some who, when they had venereal or serious diseases, such as gonorrhea or AIDS, were killed because that was a ‘degenerate’”.

Reports and statements show that ‘John 40’ has known how to keep a low profile while exercising control in vast jungle territories between Colombia and Venezuela, where he has become a true czar of drug trafficking and mining. He thus ended up becoming one of the richest criminals in the country and, incidentally, in a warlord who subjugates dozens of isolated communities and destroys the jungle to increase his fortune.