Authorities on Tuesday said they had arrested the right-hand man of “Otoniel,” the leader of Colombia’s most powerful drug trafficking organization, the Urabeños.
Prosecution officials arrested “Torta,” the alias of Abimal Coneo, in the central city of Bucaramanga.
Counter narcotics prosecutor Alvaro Sarmiento told Blu Radio that the arrested suspect had grown to become the Urabeños’ intermediary with Colombia’s private sector and politics, and was receiving orders directly from Otoniel.
The official said that Torta had been trying to make contact with authorities to negotiate the demobilization of the Urabeños.
The neo-paramilitary group previously said they wanted to join ongoing peace talks with rebel group FARC with the intention of laying down their weapons in return for amnesty.
Neo-paramilitaries support and want to be involved in Colombia’s peace talks
According to Sarmiento, Torta had traveled to the capital Bogota to seek political “status and [legal] benefits” that would allow the demobilization of the group’s estimated 3,000 armed members.
The government, however, seems hardly interested in a second round of paramilitary demobilizations within a decade as the group was formed from the AUC that demobilized between 2003 and 2006.
Instead, the government has insisted that the Urabeños have no valid political motive and are nothing but a drug trafficking organization.
Sources
Asegurados familiares y presuntos testaferros del Clan Úsuga (Prosecutor General’s Office)
Clan Úsuga se quedó sin su ‘Torta’; el ideólogo que estaría buscando acercamientos de paz (Pulzo)