Witness Ties Colombian General to Paramilitaries

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Washington Post

Witness Ties Colombian General to Paramilitaries
By Juan Forero
Washington Post Foreign Service
Wednesday, September 17, 2008; Page A12

MEDELLIN, Colombia -- Gen. Mario Montoya has for years been a trusted caretaker of the sizable aid package Washington provides Colombia's army, leading helicopter-and-commando teams that eradicated drug crops and helping orchestrate this summer's dramatic rescue of hostage Ingrid Betancourt and three captured U.S. defense contractors from Marxist rebels.

With his cinematic bluster and take-charge nature, he impressed visiting American congressional delegations and military officials as an effective, no-nonsense commander who produced results.

But now, a former paramilitary fighter has said in special judicial proceedings that Montoya, who heads Colombia's army, collaborated with death squads that took control of this city's poor neighborhoods from the guerrillas a few years ago. His testimony, along with that of at least four paramilitary commanders, is illuminating the links between Colombia's potent, U.S.-backed military and its brutal paramilitary proxies.

The allegations, if proved, could be highly damaging for the government of President Álvaro Uribe, a strong ally of the Bush administration who has staunchly supported the general in the face of past allegations. Investigations into the ties between illegal paramilitary groups and the Colombian state have already implicated numerous allies of the president, including dozens of lawmakers and the former head of the secret police.



Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/16/AR2008091603006.html?nav=rss_world/southamerica

[Judi Lynn]

1. Senator Pat Leahy is quoted in the story:

~snip~
The testimony against Montoya, well known in Washington because of his early role in managing the large U.S. military-aid package, is particularly embarrassing as the Uribe administration lobbies the U.S. Congress for a free-trade agreement, a debate closely watched by international human rights organizations.

Colombian officials say Palacio may actually receive additional jail time for testifying against Montoya because, by agreeing to cooperate in special hearings for paramilitary fighters, he also has to admit to killings and other crimes he committed. Already, Uribe's administration has been shaken by the arrest this month of a friend and ally of the president, retired Gen. Rito Alejo del Río, on murder charges. Investigators say del Río built a brutally effective counterinsurgency force with paramilitary militias and often planned joint operations with the top paramilitary leader of the late 1990s and early part of this decade, Carlos Castaño. Del Río denies ties to paramilitary groups.

Until its fighters began a disarmament process in 2003, the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, massacred thousands of villagers, carried out assassinations of political leaders and union members, and funded its operations through cocaine smuggling and support from wealthy Colombians and the Colombian security forces. Despite their brutal tactics, the paramilitaries became an effective proxy force against rebels for a then-ineffective army.

Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), chairman of the Senate subcommittee that oversees funds to the Colombian army, expressed concern over Palacio's allegations. Leahy is holding up $72 million in funding because of reports that the army has killed hundreds of peasants in recent years and presented the bodies as those of rebels killed in combat. Montoya is considered a leading proponent of compiling combat kills to measure success, a policy that human rights groups and some Colombian officials say fuels the slaying of civilians. Montoya also denies that his policies have led to the deaths of civilians.

"There have been continuing concerns with reports linking General Montoya and troops under his command to paramilitaries," Leahy said in a statement. "These allegations should be thoroughly investigated to assure that the chief of the Colombian Army -- an institution that receives hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. aid each year -- is of unimpeachable integrity." ~~~~~~~~~~
I'll bet they are glad by now they didn't bend over for _Bush and rubber stamp his scheme with Colombia.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Colombian general linked to death squads

Colombian general linked to death squads
Published: Sept. 17, 2008 at 1:11 PM

MEDELLIN, Colombia, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A former Colombian paramilitary fighter has named the nation's top general as a collaborator with death squads.

The Washington Post said Wednesday the witness told a judicial hearing that Gen. Mario Montoya cooperated with the death squads that terrorized poor neighborhoods in Medellin that were controlled by leftist guerrillas a few years ago.

Montoya has not been charged in connection with the investigation, but an official at the Colombian attorney general's office told the Post "that is the next step."

The Post said the allegations come as a blow to the United States. Montoya has been the overseer of U.S. military aid to Colombia and helped plan the high-profile rescue of four hostages held by the rebels.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/09/17/Colombian_general_linked_to_death_squads/UPI-15191221671470/

[Judi Lynn]

3. Washington Post: Top Colombian general worked with paramilitaries

Washington Post: Top Colombian general worked with paramilitaries
Thursday, 18 September 2008 12:00

A top Colombian general, lauded for his successes against the FARC and trusted by Washington, has been accused by a former paramilitary fighter of collaborating with death squads in Medellín, reported the Washington Post Wednesday.

General Mario Montoya, who was also accused of collaborating with paramilitaries in a CIA report disclosed by the Los Angeles Times in 2007, which at the time was dismissed as unproven intelligence by Colombian officials, is now the target of a preliminary investigation by the attorney general.

If proved, the charges could be a body blow to the administration of President Alvaro Uribe, which has consistently defended the general in the face of past allegations. Some 30 military officers and police officials have already been implicated in testimony by paramilitaries, reports the newspaper.

The allegations come on the heels of the arrest of retired General Rito Alejo del Río, who worked directly with Uribe while the president was governor of Antioquia, on charges of working with paramilitary militias to fight the guerrillas.
Montoya protested his innocence to the paper, calling the paramilitary, Luis Adrián Palacio, “a bandit” and accusing him of trying to reduce his prison term.

“He is lying; he is lying out of all sides of his mouth," Montoya said. "I am a fighter. I am a warrior. That is why I have enemies. I defend Colombian democracy."

Yet Palacio may receive more jail time for his allegations, because in the course of testimony he will have to admit to committing more killings and crimes, Colombian officials told the newspaper.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombian-news/news/1283-washington-post-top-colombian-general-tied-to-paramilitaries.html