1,800 former members of demobilized paramilitary organization AUC have become fugitives after failing to register with authorities that attempt to regulate the aftermath of the 2003-2006 demobilization process.
The now fugitive ex-paramilitaries were supposed to have reported themselves to authorities after the Constitutional Court declared the exemption of justice deal made between the AUC and the administration of Alvaro Uribe unconstitutional and the government had to look for alternatives ways to prevent a massive prosecution of the former right-wing fighters from clogging the judicial system.
The cases of the 25,000 former members who did report to authorities will be reviewed by a commission that is authorize to wave prosecution or decide whether an individual former member of the AUC should be prosecuted.
The right-wing AUC, formed in the 1990s to combat increasing violence from left-wing guerrilla groups, was determined a terrorist organization by the United States and Europe in the early 2000s after their increased involvement in drug trafficking and massive human rights violations. The organization is held responsible for some 50,000 cases of murder, forced disappearance and rape.
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