The
United Self-Defenders of Colombia
(
Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia
, or
AUC
, in
Spanish
) was a Colombian far-right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the
Colombian armed conflict
during the period from 1997 to 2006. The AUC was responsible for retaliations against the
FARC
and
ELN
communist organization as well as numerous attacks against civilians beginning in 1997 with the
Mapiripan massacre
.
[1]
The militia had its roots in the 1980s when militias were established by drug lords to combat rebel kidnappings and extortion by communist guerrillas.
[2]
In April 1997 the AUC was formed through a merger, orchestrated by the
ACCU
, of local right-wing militias,
[1]
each intending to protect different local economic, social and political interests by fighting
left-wing
insurgents
in their areas.
[3]
The organization was believed to have links to some local military commanders in the
Colombian Armed Forces
.
[1]
[4]
According to
Human Rights Watch
, the paramilitary groups and the armed forces of Colombia share a very close connection and due to which paramilitary groups are also perceived as an extension, more commonly called sixth-division, of the Colombia's armed forces which has five official divisions.
[5]
[6]
The AUC had about 20,000 members and was heavily financed through the drug trade
[3]
and through support from local landowners, cattle ranchers, mining or petroleum companies, and other companies such as Chiquita Brands International, and politicians.
[7]
The Colombian military has been accused of delegating to AUC paramilitaries the task of murdering
peasants
and
labor union
leaders, amongst others suspected of supporting the rebel movements
[7]
and the AUC publicly and explicitly singled out 'political and trade union operatives of the extreme left' as legitimate targets.
[1]
Powerful links to the Colombian government were never proved. The AUC was designated as a
terrorist
organization by many countries and organizations, including the
United States
,
Canada
and the
European Union
.
[8]
The bulk of the AUC's blocs demobilized by early 2006 and its former top leadership was extradited to the U.S. in 2008. However, local successors such as the
Black Eagles
continue to exist and death threats have been made using its name. On May 8, 2008, employees of a community radio station (Sarare FM Stereo) received a message stating: "For the wellbeing of you and your loved ones, do not meddle in subjects that do not concern the radio station. AUC, Arauca". A few days later the letters AUC were daubed on the front of their office. This threat was made due to their participation in a public meeting attended by members of a Congressional Human Rights Commission on the 27 September 2007. Here, members of the public denounced
human rights
abuses committed in
Arauca Department
by different parties to the armed conflict, including the AUC.
[9]
Activities
edit
The AUC's main enemies were the
leftist
insurgency groups
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) and the
National Liberation Army
(
Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional
, ELN). The AUC was designated as a
terrorist
organization by many countries and organizations, including the
United States
,
Canada
and the
European Union
.
[10]
The U.S. State Department added the AUC to the list in 2001, condemning it for
massacres
,
torture
, and other
human rights
abuses against civilians.
[11]
According to the
Colombian National Police
, in the first ten months of 2000 the AUC conducted 804
assassinations
, 203
kidnappings
, and 75 massacres with 507 victims. The AUC claims the victims were mostly
guerrillas
or sympathizers. Combat tactics consist of conventional and guerrilla operations against main force insurgent units. AUC clashes with military and police units gradually increased, although the group has traditionally been friendly with government security forces.
A February 2005 report by the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
reported that, during 2004, "the AUC was responsible for 342 cases of violations of the cessation of hostilities. These include the presumed reincorporation of demobilized persons into its ranks, massacres, forced displacements, selective and systematic
homicides
, kidnappings,
rape
,
disappearances
, threats,
intimidation
and
lootings
. These actions took place in 11 departments and targeted the civilian population, in many cases
indigenous communities
."
[12]
Human Rights Watch
reports allege that numerous elements within the
Colombian military
and
police
have collaborated with or continue to tolerate local AUC paramilitary groups.
[13]
Under the leadership of
Salvatore Mancuso
, son of
Italian
immigrants
, the AUC maintained close links with the
Calabrian
'Ndrangheta
concerning
cocaine trafficking
.
[14]
One of the AUC's targets has been
Colombian trade unions
.
Carlos Castano
said that "We kill trade unionists because they interfere with people working."
[15]
Links to corporations
edit
In March 2007, the international fruit
corporation
,
Chiquita
, admitted to having paid the AUC from 1997 to 2004 US$1.7 million ostensibly in order to protect its workers and operations, in
Uraba
and
Santa Marta
, of which at least US$825,000 came after the AUC was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department in 2001. These payments were often made through a group belonging to the
Convivir
network, a government-sponsored program of rural security cooperatives.
[16]
The payments were arranged during a 1997 meeting between
Carlos Castano
with officials from
Banadex
, a subsidiary of Chiquita.
[17]
Chiquita subsequently made a
plea bargain
with the
United States Department of Justice
, and agreed to pay a $25 million fine.
[18]
Colombia's attorney general,
Mario Iguaran
, also opened a case on Chiquita. He stated that he will request the
extradition
of eight Chiquita officials connected to the case.
[17]
He has also charged Chiquita of using one of their ships to
smuggle weapons
(some 3,400
AK-47
rifles and 4 million rounds of
ammunition
) for the AUC.
[17]
These charges were first brought ahead in a 2003 report from the
Organization of American States
(OAS).
[17]
Later, Attorney General Iguaran contradicted himself by claiming the extraditions could not be completed since the implicated persons had not been "identified and charged." Specifically, Iguaran asserted "there are indeed some Chiquita Brands directors, but we are not able to ask for them in extradition, rather we have to have some information contained in the agreement reached with the U.S. court that includes a confidentiality agreement." Nonetheless, specific information on the identities of the Chiquita directors, executives, and senior employees ? namely Cyrus Freid Heim jr., Roderick M. Hills, Robert Olson, Morten Arzen, Jeffery D. Benjamin, Steven Stanbrook,
Durk I. Jager
, Jaime Serra, Robert F. Kistenberger, James B. Riley, Robert W. Fisher, Carl H. Linder, Keith Linder, and Steven Warshaw ? have already been presented before the Attorney General's Office.
[19]
Israeli role
edit
According to a 1989 Colombian Secret Police intelligence report, apart from training Carlos Castano in 1983, Israeli trainers arrived in Colombia in 1987 to train him and other paramilitaries who would later make up the AUC. Fifty of the paramilitaries’ “best” students were then sent on scholarships to Israel for further training according to a Colombian police intelligence report.
[20]
[21]
2003?2004: Initial negotiation efforts
edit
After a
ceasefire
was declared (which in practice has been publicly admitted by the AUC and the government to be partial, resulting in a reduction but not the cessation of killings), the government of President
Alvaro Uribe
began talks with the group with the aim to eventually dismantle the organization and reintegrate its members to society. The stated deadline for completing the demobilization process was originally December 2005, but was later extended into February 2006. Between 2003 and February 2, 2006, about 17,000 of the AUC's 20,000 fighters surrendered their weapons.
[1]
[
permanent dead link
]
This is more than double the figure originally estimated by the government before negotiations began.
A draft law was presented to the public which offered to pardon the members of any illegal armed group (which would legally include both guerrillas and paramilitaries, (i.e. members of both left- and right-wing groups) that declared a ceasefire and entered talks with the government, in return for, mainly, their verified
demobilization
, concentration within a specific geographic area and the symbolic
reparation
of the offenses committed against the victims of their actions. After much discussion and controversy over it, a further revised draft was distributed to the media and political circles. This new project was not officially submitted for approval by
Congress
and further public discussion on the matter continued.
The bill, among other details, called for the creation of a three to five member
Truth Tribunal
which would study each case brought before it (at the request of the president), after the groups/individuals sign an agreement to respect international humanitarian laws and accept the authority of the Tribunal, in exchange for a minimum sentence of five to ten years (part of it could possibly be served outside jail) for those guilty of the most serious crimes, the confession of the crimes which were committed in connection with the activities of the illegal armed group, and the completion of concrete acts of reparation towards the victims.
If the Tribunal were to deny the benefits to anyone, there would be no possibility of reconsideration. However, the president would be able to veto individuals who did receive a favorable sentence. This new draft version of the law would have been in effect only until 31 December 2006.
Human Rights Watch
spokesman
Jose Miguel Vivanco
publicly stated, during one of the final audiences which were created to discuss aspects of the original bill (of which he remained highly critical), that the new proposition seemed to be considerably more in line with international standards, at first glance, but that more needed to be done in order to fully resolve the issue.
Salvatore Mancuso
, one of the AUC's main commanders, publicly expressed that he was against both any potential
extradition
of either himself or his "comrades in arms" to the USA and refused "spending a single day in jail".
Also, there have been internal conflicts within the illegal organization, as other AUC leaders have mutually accused each other of being tainted with
narcotrafficking
and their troops have even met in combat. These different, regionalistic and sometimes warring factions within the AUC, make successfully concluding any peace initiative a considerably difficult task.
In mid-May 2004, the talks appeared to move forward as the government agreed to grant the AUC leaders and 400 of their bodyguards a 142 square mile (368?km²) safe haven in
Santa Fe de Ralito
,
Cordoba
, where, under OAS verification, further discussions will be held, for a (renewable) trial period of 6 months. As long the AUC leaders remain in this area, they will not be subject to
arrest warrants
.
That condition and most of remaining legal framework invoked was previously implemented for the much larger
San Vicente del Caguan
area that former president
Andres Pastrana
granted the FARC guerrillas as safe haven during the 1998?2002 peace process, but there are differences:
- the local, state and police authorities will not leave the zone, so
Colombian laws
will still be fully applicable within its limits
- the paramilitary leaders will require special permission to leave and re-enter the zone, and government prosecutors will be allowed to operate inside it in order to investigate criminal offenses.
Disappearance and death of Carlos Castano
edit
This article needs to be
updated
.
Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.
(
August 2010
)
|
Paramilitary leader
Carlos Mauricio Garcia
alias "Doble Cero" ("Double Zero") or "Rodrigo", who since the 1980s had been a close associate of Castano within the AUC, was found dead on 30 May 2004. He had strongly objected to what he considered an improperly close relationship between the AUC and drug traffickers, and was also opposed to the group's talks with the government. "Double Zero" had fallen into disgrace in recent years, leading to the formation of his own independent "
Bloque Metro
" ("Metro Bloc"), which operated in the
Antioquia
area until it was exterminated by rival paramilitary commanders from the AUC mainstream.
Separately, in events which remain clouded and confusing, former AUC supreme leader
Carlos Castano
, who had become relatively isolated from the organization, apparently suffered an attempt on his life on 16 April 2004, presumably at the hands of either his own bodyguards, those of rival paramilitary troops, or perhaps even other entities altogether. Acting AUC commanders claim to believe that there was an accidental exchange of gunfire between his bodyguards and a separate group of paramilitary fighters, but that he may still be alive and possibly in hiding.
Other independent sources within the group and among its dissident factions claim that he and his men were captured and tortured before being executed and then buried by order of other AUC top leaders (perhaps his own brother
Vicente Castano
and/or
Diego Fernando Murillo
), who have become increasingly close to narcotraffickers and their trade. Investigators found a makeshift grave and an unidentified body (yet apparently not Castano's) near the supposed area of the events. Those same sources allege that the bodies of Castano and his other companions were dug up and taken to other locations before the investigators could arrive.
It has been speculated in the Colombian and international press that this could be a potential blow to the peace process, as Castano seemed to become relatively critical of the increasing association with narcotraffickers in recent years and more willing to compromise with the Colombian state, and thus the remaining AUC commanders (such as Mancuso and "
Don Berna
") would potentially maintain a much less open negotiating position in the ongoing talks with the Uribe government.
The death of AUC co-founder Carlos Castano remained unexplained for two years, and was subject of wild and rampant speculation. One of the more exotic rumours (dating to 1 June 2004), stated that unidentified diplomatic sources told the
AFP
agency that Castano had been spirited away to
Israel
, via
Panama
, with U.S. assistance. No specific reasoning or details regarding this claim were produced. The
governments of the United States
,
Colombia
, and
Israel
denied these allegations.
Details about Castano's possible fate began to emerge in 2006. The
Cali
-based
Nuevo Diario Occidente
reported that an assassin hired by Vicente Castano confessed to the police that he had killed Castano in 2004. This assassin's confessions allowed Colombian authorities to locate Castano's body in August 2006, and
DNA tests
confirmed its identity in September that year.
Possible paramilitary activities in Venezuela
edit
In early May 2004,
Venezuelan
authorities arrested at least 100 individuals that they accused of being Colombian paramilitaries and of scheming, together with part of the Venezuelan opposition, to begin a series of scheduled attacks against heavily fortified military targets within
Caracas
, aiming at the overthrow of President
Hugo Chavez
.
The AUC officially denied that they had anything to do with them. President Uribe congratulated the Venezuelan president for the capture and pledged to cooperate with the investigation, while President Chavez himself declared that, as far as he was concerned, he did not believe that Uribe had anything to with the operation, for which he blamed "elements" within "the oligarchies of
Miami
and
Bogota
", also implicating individual high-ranking U.S. and Colombian military officers, who have denied such involvement.
Vice-president
Francisco Santos Calderon
added that he hoped that the Venezuelan government would pursue with equal zeal those FARC and ELN guerrillas who would also be present in Venezuela. The Venezuelan opposition dismissed the whole event as a "setup", claiming that Chavez intended to interfere with the potential approval of a
referendum
which sought to remove him from power.
Late 2004: Demobilizations
edit
In November 2004, the
Supreme Court
approved the extradition to the United States of top paramilitary leaders
Salvatore Mancuso
and
Carlos Castano
, together with that of the guerrilla commander
Simon Trinidad
, the only one of the men to be in state custody (Castano's extradition was approved because the court considered that the matter of his death was not yet clear).
The court ruled that the three US
extradition
requests, all for charges of drug trafficking and
money laundering
, respected current Colombian legal procedures and therefore they could now proceed, once the president gave his approval.
[22]
It has been speculated in the Colombian press that the government would possibly approve the extradition of Salvatore Mancuso, but would delay it for the duration of the peace talks that he and his organization are conducting with the state. Mancuso himself has declared that he will continue to participate in the process despite the Supreme Court's ruling.
[
citation needed
]
In early December and late November, there have been new events in the peace negotiations with the AUC. First, several hundred men of the
Bloque Bananero
(loosely translated, the Banana Producers' Bloc) turned in their weapons and demobilized in order to be reintegrated into civilian life. This group operated in the Uraba region of northern Antioquia, where the AUC had dislodged the FARC and gained total control in the mid- to late nineties. However, the AUC remain in the area with the presence of other divisions.
A few weeks later, the
Catatumbo Bloc
also demobilized. This was a milestone in Colombian history, for, with its 1425 mercenaries, the Catatumbo Bloc was one of the most important AUC groups. With them Salvatore Mancuso, the AUC's military leader, turned himself in. A few days later, the government announced that it would not make Mancuso's extradition effective as long as he avoided criminal activities and fulfilled his commitments to the peace process.
Both of these massive demobilizations of AUC groups are an apparent improvement over the first one in 2003 in
Medellin
because on this occasion important leaders turned themselves in and the weapons presented were assault rifles, machine guns, grenade launchers and rockets, rather than the
homemade shotguns
and old, malfunctioning revolvers that were turned in the first demobilization. The AUC was supposed to have demobilized completely by 2006 but successor organizations continued to operate such as the neo-paramilitary alliance BACRIM ('bandas criminales emergentes').
2005: Legal framework and controversy
edit
Many Colombian and international observers are skeptical about the demobilization's prospects and see multiple causes for criticism. A concern shared by a high number of critics, both inside and outside the country, is that the demobilization process, if it does not provide a legal framework that contemplates the proper doses of truth, reparation and justice, could allow those who have committed human rights violations to possibly enjoy an undue degree of impunity for their crimes. A different kind of concern is held by a few of the supporters of the demobilization process, some of which believe that, without a certain degree of acceptance from the paramilitaries themselves, any unilateral attempts at reducing impunity could stay in writing and not be practically effective.
A smaller number of the critics have also expressed their fear that the current administration could integrate the AUC into its civilian defence militias or other military structures. Military and government spokesmen have stated multiple times that there is no intention to integrate the AUC into the state's legal security apparatus. While no reports of that occurring have been put forward yet, there have been signs of some individual paramilitaries expressing an interest in wanting to aid local security efforts in areas formerly under their influence and control, in order to prevent possible guerrilla inroads.
The debate on the subject of potential
impunity
has had a high profile in both the international and Colombian media, with critical views being expressed in
Chicago Tribune
and
New York Times
editorials, in addition to many Colombian outlets. The main argument of several editorials has been that the international community should not help fund the demobilization process until the necessary legal framework to minimize impunity is in place. This position was also echoed by representatives of the international community in a February 2005 donors' conference in Cartagena.
[23]
After many public and private discussions through mid-to-late 2004, in early 2005, a number of congressmen, including Senator
Rafael Pardo
and
Gina Parody
(traditionally holding pro-government positions) and
Wilson Borja
(a former leftwing labor leader who survived a paramilitary assassination attempt back in 2000) among others, independently presented a multiparty draft bill that, according to several observers such as Colombian and international
NGOs
(including Human Rights Watch), indicates a substantial improvement (compared to the government's previous initiatives) in meeting the necessary conditions of adequately dismantling paramilitarism and reducing impunity. Among these sectors, there is a semblance of a broad consensus in support of this bill.
[24]
[25]
Congressional discussion on the subject was set to begin on February 15, 2005, but suffered several delays. The Colombian government's own official draft had apparently gradually incorporated several of the provisions in the Pardo, Parody and Borja proposal, but a number of disagreements remained, which would be the source for further debate on the subject. Other congressmen, including supporters of the government, also begun to present their own draft projects.
[
citation needed
]
On February 23, the top AUC leaders published an online document on their webpage which stated
[
citation needed
]
that they will not submit to a legal framework that, in their own words, would force them to suffer through an undue humiliation that their leftwing guerrilla foes would not contemplate for themselves. They also declared that they are in favor of laws that will allow their fighters to return to civilian and productive lives in a fair, peaceful and equitable manner. In the absence of such conditions, they claimed that the consequence would be the end of the negotiations and their preferring to face the prospect of continuing "war and death". A government communique answered that the AUC should not put pressure on Congress, the media or the Executive on the matter of the legal framework, and that they would have five days to leave the Ralito zone if they chose to quit the talks. The AUC later reduced the tone of its earlier remarks.
[26]
On April 11, an AUC spokesman repeated their claims that the current proposal for amnesty was too harsh primarily because it still allowed extradition for drug charges.
[27]
In the early morning of May 13, 2008, thirteen high-profile paramilitary leaders were taken from their jail cells in a surprise action by the government. According to Interior Minister
Carlos Holguin
they have been refusing to comply to the country's Peace and Justice Law and were therefore extradited to the United States. Amongst them are Salvatore Mancuso, Don Berna,
Jorge 40
,
Cuco Vanoy
and
Diego Ruiz Arroyave
(cousin of assassinated paramilitary leader
Miguel Arroyave
).
[28]
President Uribe said immediately afterwards the United States has agreed to compensate the victims of extradited paramilitary warlords with any international assets they might surrender. The US State Department said the US' courts can also help the victims by sharing information on atrocities with Colombian authorities.
[29]
The
National Movement of State Crimes
, a coalition of several victim organizations that have suffered from state or paramilitary violence, has asked "to return the paramilitary chiefs to the Colombian authorities so they may be processed by the ordinary justice system and not under the framework of the
Law of Justice and Peace
, since this framework benefits the victimizers and not the victims, since they have not told all of the truth, have not made comprehensive reparations to the victims, and have not dismantled their criminal structures."
[30]
The Office in Colombia of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
stated that "[...] according to Colombian law, the reasons claimed by the President of the Republic to proceed with the previously-suspended extraditions are also grounds for their removal from the application of the ‘Law of Justice and Peace’ and for the loss of the benefits established therein".
[30]
The
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights
stated that this "affects the Colombian State’s obligation to guarantee victims’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations for the crimes committed by the paramilitary groups. The extradition impedes the investigation and prosecution of such grave crimes through the avenues established by the Justice and Peace Law in Colombia and through the Colombian justice system’s regular criminal procedures. It also closes the door to the possibility that victims can participate directly in the search for truth about crimes committed during the conflict, and limits access to reparations for damages that were caused. This action also interferes with efforts to determine links between agents of the State and these paramilitary leaders."
[30]
After his extradition to the United States, paramilitary leader
Salvatore Mancuso
has continued to testify via satellite as part of the Justice and Peace process. On November 18, 2008,
Revista Semana
reported on Mancuso's declarations about the 1997
El Aro massacre
, in which he stated that the AUC had received logistical help from the national military and police.
[31]
Mancuso confessed to the Colombian justice system in 2023 in order to benefit from the transitional justice system and detailed the links between the State and the paramilitaries. He acknowledged the assassination of the humorist
Jaime Garzon
in 1998 on the orders of the Colombian army, the massacres of political opponents carried out jointly with the armed forces, his participation in the practice known as "
false positives
" by assassinating civilians that the military then passed off as guerrillas who had died in combat, the use of crematoria to make some of the victims disappear and mass graves in Venezuela containing hundreds of bodies that the unit he commanded made disappear. He also acknowledges that the paramilitaries helped elect
Andres Pastrana
in 1998 and
Alvaro Uribe
in 2002.
[32]
[33]
Parapolitics scandal
edit
In popular culture
edit
- Little Voices
(Pequenas Voces) ? An animated movie about the vision of children in the war in Colombia.
- IMPUNITY ? THE FILM
? Film about the AUC.
- La Sierra
. Produced and directed by Scott Dalton and Margarita Martinez.
- Referenced in the motion picture,
Miami Vice
.
- Seen in the second and third season of Netflix's
Narcos
.
See also
edit
References
edit
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
Uppsala Conflict Data Program
Conflict Encyclopedia, Colombia, One-Sided violence, AUC-Civilians, 1997?2005,
http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/gpcountry.php?id=35®ionSelect=5-Southern_Americas#
Archived
2013-06-06 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
BBC,
Quick Guide, The Colombian conflict
Archived
2013-11-10 at the
Wayback Machine
.
- ^
a
b
The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism
, Terrorist Organization Profile:United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC),
http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=126
Archived
2013-07-27 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Archived
2012-11-04 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Joanne Mariner; Malcolm Smart (2001).
"1 I. SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS"
(PDF)
.
The "Sixth Division"?: military-paramilitary ties and U.S. policy in Colombia
(illustrated?ed.). New York, NY: Human Rights Watch. p.?1.
ISBN
9781564322654
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on 2016-12-13
. Retrieved
30 April
2017
.
- ^
Chomsky, Noam.
"On Colombia"
.
chomsky.info
.
Archived
from the original on 2017-05-18
. Retrieved
30 April
2017
.
- ^
a
b
Rivera, Edgar de Jesus Velasquez (2007).
"Historia del paramilitarismo en Colombia"
.
Historia (Sao Paulo)
(in Spanish).
26
(1): 134?153.
doi
:
10.1590/S0101-90742007000100012
.
ISSN
0101-9074
.
- ^
"Chapter 6 ? Terrorist Organizations"
. 30 April 2007
. Retrieved
2017-06-25
.
- ^
"Colombia: 'Leave us in peace!'?: Targeting civilians in Colombia's internal armed conflict"
.
Archived
from the original on 2013-12-30
. Retrieved
2016-12-04
.
- ^
"Chapter 6 ? Terrorist Organizations"
. 30 April 2007
. Retrieved
2017-06-25
.
- ^
"U.S. Revoking Visas of United Self-Defense Supporters"
.
Archived
from the original on 2017-02-02
. Retrieved
2016-12-12
.
- ^
Report on the situation of human rights in Colombia
Archived
2020-07-28 at the
Wayback Machine
UNHCR 28 February 2005 (English and Spanish)
- ^
Report
Archived
2016-03-05 at the
Wayback Machine
from
Human Rights Watch
- ^
Tiene Italia indicios sobre presencia de carteles mexicanos en Europa
Archived
2007-08-24 at the
Wayback Machine
,
El Universal
, 15 April 2007
(in Spanish)
- ^
American Center for International Labor Solidarity (2006),
Justice For All: The Struggle for Worker Rights in Colombia
Archived
2010-07-17 at the
Wayback Machine
, p12
- ^
DOCUMENTS IMPLICATE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT IN CHIQUITA TERROR SCANDAL
Archived
2007-07-11 at the
Wayback Machine
,
National Security Archive
Electronic Briefing Book No. 217
- ^
a
b
c
d
Michael Evans,
'Para-politics' Goes Bananas
Archived
2007-12-21 at the
Wayback Machine
,
The Nation
, 4 April 2007
(in English)
- ^
Chiquita Brands International Pleads Guilty to Making Payments to a Designated Terrorist Organization And Agrees to Pay $25 Million Fine
Archived
2007-08-17 at the
Wayback Machine
, United States Department of Justice, 19 March 2007
(in English)
- ^
Chiquita Board Members: Total Identification
Archived
2010-08-19 at the
Wayback Machine
,
Jose Alvear Restrepo Lawyers' Collective
, July 23, 2008
- ^
"Yair Klein and Carlos Castao"
.
Democracy Now!
.
- ^
"Israels Latin american trail of terror"
.
- ^
BBC Court clears Colombia extradition
Archived
2005-12-05 at the
Wayback Machine
Thursday, 25 November 2004
- ^
Colombia opens peace conference
Archived
2006-05-29 at the
Wayback Machine
BBC 3 February 2005 (English)
- ^
www.ciponline.org ? Plan Colombia and Beyond
Archived
2018-11-06 at the
Wayback Machine
December 07, 2004 (English)
- ^
Colombia: Demobilization Scheme Ensures Injustice
Archived
2005-02-10 at the
Wayback Machine
hrw.org January 18, 2005 (English)
- ^
Caracol Radio
Archived
2019-03-05 at the
Wayback Machine
February 23, 2005 (Spanish)
- ^
Colombia fighters reject amnesty
Archived
2005-04-13 at the
Wayback Machine
BBC April 11, 2005
- ^
"Massive extradition of paramilitary bosses"
. Colombia Reports. May 13, 2008
. Retrieved
2008-05-13
.
- ^
"Assets of paramilitaries will be confiscated to pay victims, Uribe says"
. Colombia Reports. May 13, 2008
. Retrieved
2008-05-13
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
a
b
c
Extradition Cut Short
Archived
2008-06-13 at the
Wayback Machine
‘’CCAJAR’’ May 27, 2008
- ^
"Former paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso said that AUC received help from the police and the military in massacre"
. Revista Semana. November 18, 2008
. Retrieved
2008-12-23
.
- ^
"Mancuso pide hablar en privado sobre Pastrana, Serpa y Uribe en la JEP por apoyos electorales"
.
Cambio
. May 15, 2023.
- ^
"Salvatore Mancuso: "Nos entregaban listados y entonces golpeabamos a las casas y matabamos a quienes senalaban de guerrilleros"
"
.
elpais.com
. 11 May 2023.
External links
edit
- Breaking the Grip? Obstacles to Justice for Paramilitary Mafias in Colombia
?
Human Rights Watch
- List of the Foreign Terrorist Organizations by US Department of State
- Alto Comisionado para la paz
- Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia
, Web site (in Spanish).
- 2003 Colombia Summary
. Amnesty International.
- Along for the Ride: Colombia's paramilitaries are getting a pass, with a wink from Washington
. By Chip Mitchell. The Progressive. May 2005.
- Colombia's growing paramilitary force
. BBC. January 7, 2002,
- Colombia 2005 Report
Archived
2020-07-28 at the
Wayback Machine
. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (Spanish and English)
- Paramilitary Ties to Elite In Colombia Are Detailed: Commanders Cite State Complicity in Violent Movement
Juan Forero, Washington Post Foreign Service, May 22, 2007; A01
- Paramilitary Violations of International Humanitarian Law
. Human Rights Watch.
- (in Spanish)
20minutos.es
- Alternative Development, Economic Interests and Paramilitaries in Uraba
Transnational Institute (TNI) Drug Policy Briefing No 27, September 2008, By: Moritz Tenthoff
- Who are the victims? ? The aftermath of violence in Colombia
? (Former combatants in Colombia's internal armed conflict spent two years painting their experiences. They face difficult decisions about what to remember, what to forget and how to forgive)