Extradited paramilitary head Salvatore Mancuso asked Colombia’s Supreme Court to force the country’s government to keep its promises made to the AUC in the demobilization process.
In a letter to the country’s highest court, Mancuso asked for an intervention “to overcome these serious problems and to allow me to fulfil my commitment to peace and reconciliation with Colombia and the victims and continue leading and participating in the process of — the now suspended — political negotiation that the government started and to continue to comply with the judicial part of this negotiation process.”
From his U.S. prison, Mancuso accuses the Colombian government of ignoring agreements made while developing the Justice and Peace law that allowed the demobilization of 31,000 members of the AUC and promised them lower prison sentences in exchange for their collaboration with justice and reparation of victims.
According to Mancuso, there is no agreement between Colombia and the U.S. about the latter’s help in the peace process.
“The Colombian government continually reiterates the existence of cooperation agreements between the U.S. and Colombia that do not even exist,” the former #1 of the AUC writes.
Mancuso reiterates his personal commitment to the Justice and Peace law and stresses he is willing to come clean with his past so the truth can be known and victims can be repaired.
The former leader of the AUC was extradited to the United States after the Colombian government accused him and a dozen other AUC leaders of continuing their criminal activities from Colombian prisons.