Colombia Ex-President's Brother Faces Trial Over Death Squads
Published 24 October 2016 (3 hours 41 minutes ago)
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Santiago Uribe Velez has been accused of creating and bankrolling the paramilitary group known as the 12 Apostles when his brother, Alvaro was a Senator representing the northwestern department of Antioquia. Investigations have implicated the 12 Apostles in at least 164 murders including FARC rebels, drug users, and criminals with police complicity.
Witnesses testimonies have described the paramilitarys activities as a social cleansing campaign.
Uribe Velez, an Antioquia rancher, was arrested in February for his death squad ties. A federal prosecutor has now called him to respond to charges that he is the alleged mastermind behind crimes of aggravated homicide and conspiracy through the 12 Apostles.
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Federal prosecutors have investigated the case for more than a decade, according to local media, and several former police officers and paramilitary leaders have implicated Uribe Velez in the groups formation and development. A key witness, retired police chief Juan Carlos Meneses, testified in 2010 about Uribe Velezs role in the 12 Apostles in 2010, reviving long-rumored allegations. Among other revelations, Meneses reported that during a visit to Uribe Velez farm, the rancher had shown him a hit list of people to be assassinated by his operatives.
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Colombia-Ex-Presidents-Brother-Faces-Trial-Over-Death-Squads-20161024-0002.html