Govt investigates paramilitary assets abroad

The Superior Court of the Justice and Peace process orders the state to investigate whether demobilized paramilitaries are hiding funds abroad, El Tiempo reported Monday.

President of the Reparation Commission Eduardo Pizarro said that the government must sign agreements with other countries so that the government can determine the total foreign funds held by demobilized paramilitaries.

Last week Jorge Ivan Laverde Zapata, alias “El Iguano” was found guilty of taking part in at least 28 massacres and ordered to pay $3.2 million in reparations.

El Iguano gave up his farm in the Santander department to pay compensation to the victims, but intelligence agencies believe that he holds other assets in Venezuela and other countries.

Sources in the Justice and Peace processes confirmed to El Tiempo that investigations are being conducted to track the foreign assets of other paramilitaries.

The Prosecutor General’s Office said that “all the leaders, among whom are Fidel and Carlos Castaño, Freddy Rendon, ‘El Aleman’, ‘Macaco’, Rodrigo Tovar, ‘Jorge 40’ and Salvatore Mancuso have money outside Colombia.”

El Iguano, Edward Cobos (alias “Diego Vecino”), and Uber Banquez (alias “Juancho Dique”) are the first three paramilitaries to be convicted in the Justice and Peace program.

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