Pena took Firestone to Cali, claiming that drug traffickers were in hiding there and that a secret manhunt needed to be carried out. In front of Calderón, Pena confiscated all the police officers' communication devices; even Calderón's walkie-talkie was taken into unified custody. Pena specifically arranged for Calderón to join his team for the operation.
Pena kept the target of the operation tightly under wraps, only saying, "We've trained hard for a long time, and today is the day." The convoy arrived in a grand manner outside a house. Under Pena's command, all the police officers searched the interior and exterior of the house repeatedly, but found nothing. Pena stated that the intelligence clearly indicated that Barcha was present there.
Taking advantage of a moment when no one was watching, Pena instructed Firestone that the official operation had begun. After the fruitless search, Pena had no choice but to order the team to withdraw. On the way back, he suddenly said to Calderón that he wanted to visit an old friend. Agents from the DEA, along with Colonel Martínez's men, hid in a chicken transport truck and arrived outside Gilberto's residence. The driver feigned a vehicle breakdown to lure the security guards out, and the police officers in the truck immediately overpowered the guards and forced their way into the house.
Gilberto was an extremely methodical man. Through his careful planning, he managed to keep his three wives living in harmony, and built the Cali Cartel into a powerful drug empire. At that moment, a man wearing Gilberto's clothes fled in panic but was caught and brought back. Upon seeing the police's imposing manner, the three wives' expressions turned dejected.
Pena brought Calderón to the entrance of Gilberto's residence. Colonel Martínez warned Calderón to reform his ways and not to sabotage their operation. Calderón sneered at this, saying, "This is my territory, not Bogotá." They took the key to Calderón's car and left him alone outside.
Pena was certain that Gilberto had not left the premises. Eventually, he found Gilberto huddled under a hidden staircase. Calderón, waiting outside, faintly sensed that something was wrong. Taking advantage of the lack of supervision, he secretly started his car, slipped away quickly, and ordered all police officers to intercept Pena and his team in Cali.
When Pena and Martínez learned that Calderón had escaped, they knew he would definitely obstruct their operation. They immediately hurried to get Gilberto out of the area. Sure enough, shortly after Pena's vehicle set off, it was ambushed from both front and rear, forced to stop by Calderón's cars. When Firestone got out of the driver's seat and opened the cargo compartment door, there was nothing inside. Only then did Calderón realize he had been tricked—Pena's real goal was to take Gilberto to the airport.
When Pena finally reached the airport with great difficulty, he was met by Colombian police officers armed with loaded weapons. Pena was overwhelmed with frustration. Martínez went down alone to reason with the police, and eventually, the officers put down their guns. Gilberto was successfully escorted onto the plane.
Everyone was shocked by Gilberto's arrest—even Gilberto himself couldn't figure out how he had been caught. When news of Gilberto's arrest reached the drug lord Miguel, he was at María's apartment. Miguel had sent Jorge to work with others to retrieve María's son from the boy's grandmother. By the time Jorge returned with María's son, all the drug lords had already gathered to discuss their response. Gilberto's son Nicolás even wanted to go to Bogotá to defend his father, but this was opposed by Miguel. Regarding Gilberto's arrest, Miguel insisted that it was Córdoba's fault—since Córdoba, as Gilberto's security chief, had failed in his duties. Jorge took the initiative to claim responsibility for the failure, but Miguel did not hold him accountable at all.
When Nicolás visited his father in prison, Gilberto was uneasy about his presence and told him not to get involved. Nicolás replied that he had discovered the arrest warrant had expired, suggesting there might still be a turn for the better. Amado from Juárez had been urging Barcha to continue cooperating with him—with Barcha in charge of production and Amado handling transportation. His words had begun to sway Barcha.
Miguel informed Barcha of Gilberto's arrest, advising him to act wisely and not return for the time being. The United States and Colombia held differing stances on Gilberto's arrest. The Colombian side, worried that the arrest would undermine the peace talks they were conducting, demanded his immediate release. This standoff continued until Colombian President Ernesto Samper arrived. He stated that Gilberto's arrest was a fait accompli, and like any other Colombian citizen, Gilberto had an obligation to face legal punishment.
Pena, who had been on tenterhooks, finally felt relieved. However, while organizing documents, he found a note stating that if the negotiations failed, he would bear all the responsibility. That night, Martínez came to tell Pena that among the documents brought back from Cali, there was a list of police officers who had accepted bribes—and his own name was on it. For this reason, Martínez had turned in his police badge and gun. From that point on, Pena would be fighting alone. After a long silence, Pena finally drew a large red cross over Gilberto's photo.