The now-defunct paramilitary Cacique Pipinta Bloc financially supported the 2002 presidential campaign of former President Alvaro Uribe, the former commander of the bloc told Noticias Uno.
According to Pablo Hernan Sierra, alias “Alberto Guerrero,” the paramilitaries organized a cattle auction to collect funds for Uribe who was running for his first term as president.
“In 2002 there was a cattle auction in the town of Pintada in the La Bocana sector. They did the auction to gather funds for President Alvaro Uribe Velez for his first campaign,” the former paramilitary said.
According to Guerrero, Uribe himself was present at the event where the paramilitaries collected $140,000 for his campaign.
“President Alvaro Uribe was present at this auction and the members of the Cacique Pipinta Bloc offered him security,” the former commander said.
Guerrero, who is being held in the prison of Combita, told the interviewer he has so far not been called to testify before the Justice and Peace unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office, which is responsible for the investigation of crimes by AUC members. Members of the Cacique Pipinta Bloc were never included in the Justice and Peace law, because the group officially never demobilized.