Colombia’s Prosecutor General says demobilized paramilitary boss Salvatore Mancuso was responsible for over 10,000 deaths in the department of Norte de Santander during his time as leader of the AUC’s Catatumbo bloc, which was active in the area.
Mancuso appeared Tuesday in a Washington D.C. court room, where he heard charges read against him by Justice and Peace prosecutor Leonardo Augusto Cabana, via live video link-up.
“Already we have approximately, to date, more than 10,550 registered victims of acts committed by the Catatumbo bloc,” said Cabana.
According to Caracol TV, the list of crimes of which the former paramilitary boss has been accused also include homicide of protected people and illegal trafficking of arms.
The crimes were allegedly committed between 1999 and 2004, when Mancuso was a leader of the Catatumbo bloc AUC paramilitary group.
The Catatumbo bloc is known to have committed numerous massacres and other crimes during its period of activity.
Mancuso is serving a prison sentence after being extradited to the U.S.