Who is behind the paramilitary terror in Colombia?

[Judi Lynn]

by Adriaan Alsema
September 7, 2020

The possible return of paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso to Colombia revives the question who is behind the far-right terror that continued after the demobilization of paramilitary organization AUC.

Colombia’s Supreme Court has sentenced more than 65 former Congressmen and at least seven governors, but the prosecution almost exclusively prosecuted members of the military arm of The Paramilitary Project.

The former presidents



Andres Pastrana and Alvaro Uribe

Colombia’s Supreme Court is currently investigating former President Alvaro Uribe for his key role in the formation and expansion of the AUC while he was governor in Antioquia and president.

There is evidence Uribe has been tied to organized crime since he entered politics under the wing of the Medellin Cartel in 1980, but his formation of almost 80 legal paramilitary groups when he was governor in the late 1990’s and his controversial demobilization of the AUC after they helped him become president has triggered most suspicion.

Uribe was not the only president who received electoral support from the paramilitaries, extradited paramilitary chief “Jorge 40” said in 2008. His subordinates of the so-called “Bloque Norte” were instructed to secure the election of Conservative Party candidate Andres Pastrana in 1998.

Both presidents are fierce opponents of the peace process, and particularly Uribe has increasingly been inciting hatred, which in some cases was followed up by death threats of far-right group “Aguilas Negras.”

. . .

The military, however, has hardly been cooperative, making it unclear how many top commanders were engaging the AUC’s terrorism practices.

Like with the businessmen, multiple military units have been accused of still using paramilitary forces.

More:
https://colombiareports.com/who-is-behind-the-paramilitaries-terror-in-colombia/