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BOGOTA (AP) — A Colombian court has sentenced a man to 40 years in prison Former paramilitary commander Salvatore Mancuso for crimes The prosecutor’s office said Monday that the defendants were accused of committing crimes against indigenous communities in the north of the country between 2002 and 2006, with the alternative of having the sentence reduced to eight years if he adheres to truth and reparation obligations.
The new conviction comes next Mancuso will regain his freedom in 2024After spending more than 15 years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking crimes, and a few months in prison in Colombia for crimes related to the internal armed conflict, he was deported.
Mancuso has been accused of committing thousands of crimes, most of them committed while he was leading the disbanded United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, such as displacement, murder, war crimes and violence against women. In Colombia, however, it is covered by the “Justice and Peace Law,” created in 2005 to comply with a peace agreement between the government and the paramilitaries led by Mancuso.
The Court of Justice and Peace issued the new ruling after concluding that paramilitary forces under his command committed “murders, enforced disappearances, forced displacement, gender-based violence and other unlawful conduct between 2002 and 2006” against Wayuu indigenous people and other communities living in La Guajira.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the sentence Mancuso will finally receive is conditional upon Mancuso following a “commitment to fulfill the obligations” he has to the former paramilitary’s justice system. After his deportation from the United States, the former paramilitary member claimed in his defense that he had already served more than the eight years in prison agreed upon when they negotiated peace with the state in Colombian and American prisons.
“He must publicly acknowledge his responsibility, repentance and commitment not to commit punishable conduct again,” the ruling said.
Mancuso currently performs the role of “Peace Director”, a number that allows him to accompany peace approaches with illegal armed groups, including armed groups. Paramilitary heritage such as the Gulf Clanthe largest active cartel in the country.
The appointment as director was made directly by President Gustavo Petro, Colombia’s first left-leaning president, who promotes a policy called “comprehensive peace” that seeks to reach negotiated agreements with armed groups.
Petro on Monday questioned the Gulf clan’s desire for peace by accusing them of obstructing the handover of lands seized by paramilitaries from farmers. The president said on the “X” social network: “If we proceed in this way, the process will undoubtedly be harmed.”