Guns, Camouflage, and Facebook: How Colombia’s Biggest ‘Narcoinfluencer’ Weaponized Social Media

An OCCRP feature examines the rise and death of Nain Pérez, a 27-year-old known online as ‘Bendito Menor’, who was a commander in the Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra Nevada (ACSN), an illegal armed group in north-eastern Colombia. Pérez built a large social media following by mixing footage of his armed lifestyle with romantic and personal posts.

He was shot dead on 4 September in a late-night government operation that Colombia’s president had personally ordered. His girlfriend, Rosa Angélica Tarazona, known as ‘Bebecita’, was also killed.

Experts quoted in the piece describe his use of social media as a sophisticated form of narcocultura that makes drug trafficking look aspirational and may have encouraged young people to join armed groups. OCCRP identified at least 20 related accounts with more than 700,000 followers between them. Members of his own group reportedly found him hard to control, because he publicised his whereabouts and his violence.

Local people said he extorted merchants while also handing out food and gifts, which won him popularity in a region where the state has little presence. Hundreds of motorcyclists joined his funeral procession, bringing traffic in Riohacha to a standstill.

Meta said it had suspended more than 1,000 accounts in Colombia linked to an unnamed terrorist group and removed some fan pages after OCCRP’s enquiries. Some accounts are still posting in his voice and sharing AI-generated images of him.

Article Credit: https://www.occrp.org/en/feature/the-dramatic-death-of-a-social-media-star-shines-a-light-on-colombias-narcoinfluencer-culture