Forensic institute authorizes release of bodies of ‘Bendito Menor,’ ‘La Bebecita’ and two others killed in Riohacha

The bodies of four people killed during a police operation in Riohacha are now available for collection by their relatives in Barranquilla, Colombia's National Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Sciences said.

The remains include those of Naín Andrés Pérez Toncel, known as “Bendito Menor,” Rosa Angélica Tarazona, known as “La Bebecita,” and two men identified by the aliases “El Tío” and “Casiloco.” They died during an operation carried out early Friday by police officers from the Dijín in a house in Riohacha, in the La Guajira department.

The institute said relatives must go to the Barranquilla morgue and complete the required procedures before taking the bodies. The remains had been transferred from Riohacha to Barranquilla on Friday morning, while forensic specialists sent from Bogotá assisted with identification and autopsies.

The transfer had created tension in La Guajira. Relatives of “Bendito Menor” called a protest in Riohacha, asking that his body remain in the city rather than be taken to Barranquilla.

The decision to authorize the releases came sooner than some investigators following organized crime in the Caribbean had expected. Some analysts had thought the process could take longer because of the autopsies, identification work and other forensic examinations. They also interpreted the transfer to Barranquilla as a possible way to reduce tension in Riohacha and prevent crowds from gathering around the morgue. Attention now turns back to La Guajira as the bodies are returned.