Colombia’s former peace commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo faces legal fees resulting from the 2006 “false demobilization” plot , reported Radio Caracol Friday.
At a public hearing Friday, prosecutor Viviane Morales demanded Restrepo pay all costs for legal processes relating to his December charges of embezzlement, conspiracy to defraud, trafficking and improper possession of military uniforms.
Meanwhile, according to El Espectador, the legal counsel of Restrepo’s highest-profile co-conspirator, imprisoned guerrilla Raul Agudelo, resigned just hours before the hearing over Agudelo’s refusal to accept legal benefits in return for testifying against Restrepo.
The former politician, who served during Alvaro Uribe’s 2002-2010 presidency, was accused of conspiring with Agudelo, alias “Olivo Saldaña,” and a drug lord to stage the demobilization of the non-existent Cacica Gaitana front.
According to the allegations, the plot involved gathering homeless and unemployed people from the central Tolima department and paying them $278 each to live and act like FARC guerrillas, before surrendering to security forces.
Prosecutors requested that a security assurance was placed over those involved, likely restricting their movement until the trial is concluded.