AUC commander confirms paramilitary support for Uribe's 2002 campaign .
AUC commander confirms paramilitary support for Uribe's 2002 campaign .
Monday, 27 August 2012 10:25 Courtney Scott
A former AUC commander confirmed accusations that paramilitary groups helped finance ex-president Alvaro Uribe's campaign in 2002.
According to website Verdadabierta, various ex-paramilitary leaders including Salvatore Mancuso and Jorge Ivan Laverde, alias "El Iguano," from the AUC Catatumbo block told officials in court how they economically and logistically supported Uribe's presidential campaign.
El Iguano said that no evidence exists of these financial transactions because the groups burned all of their paramilitary records before they demobilized. Former AUC head Mancuso, who has testified on several occasions that the paramilitaries supported Uribe's first campaign, led his organization's demobilization between 2003 and 2006 in coordination with the Uribe administration.
According to El Iguano, each paramilitary group had a box of petty cash destined towards Uribe's campaign. The Catatumbo block in the north of Colombia contributed over $55,000 in petty cash alone. They would use the money to purchase shirts with the then-candidate's slogan, as well as provide transport and refreshments for voting tables on election day and at political meetings.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/25739-auc-commander-confirms-paramilitary-support-for-uribes-2002-campaign.html