Colombia’s government reappointed 16 former AUC commanders to finalize a disrupted paramilitary demobilization process.
In a decree, the government said that the participation of the former commanders seeks to “contribute their knowledge and experience to the development of peacebuilding activities and guarantees of non-repetition, the structuring of peace processes, and strategies for rapprochement with illegal armed actors.”
In order to continue the paramilitary demobilization process that was interrupted in 2008 when former president Alvaro Uribe extradited 14 of the AUC’s top commanders.
These former commanders have now been appointed peace agents by the Interior Ministry to tie up loose ends in the process.
Appointed peace agents
- Ramon Maria Isaza, a.k.a. “El Viejo”
Former commander of the Magdalena Medio Self-Defense Forces and father of the alleged EGC commander “Terror” - Arnubio Triana, a.k.a. “Botalon”
Former commander of the “Puerto Boyaca Self-Defense Forces” and “Los Botalones” - Hector Jose Buitrago, a.k.a. “El Patron”
Former commander of the Casanare Campesino Self-Defense Forces - Ramiro Vanoy, a.k.a. “Cuco Vanoy”
Former commander of the Mineros Bloc - Hernan Giraldo, a.k.a. “El Taladro”
Former commander of the Tayrona Resistance Front - Luis Eduardo Cifuentes, a.k.a. “El Aguila”
Former AUC commander in the Cundinamarca province - Manuel de Jesus Piraban, a.k.a. “Pirata”
Former commander of the Centaurus Bloc and the Llanos Heroes Front - Juan Francisco Prada, a.k.a. “Juancho Prada”
Former commander of the Hector Julio Peinado Bloc - Jose Baldomero Linares, a.k.a. “Guillermo Torres”
Former commander of the Meta and Vichada Campesino Self-Defense Forces - Salvatore Mancuso, a.k.a. “El Mono”
Former commander of the Cordoba Bloc and the Catatumbo Bloc - Carlos Mario Jimenez, a.k.a. “Macaco”
Former commander of the Central Bolivar Bloc - Diego Fernando Murillo, a.k.a. “Don Berna”
Former leader of the “Oficina de Envigado” - Herbert Veloza, a.k.a. “HH”
Former commander of the “Bananero Bloc” and the “Calima Bloc” - Rodrigo Tovar, a.k.a. “Jorge 40”
Former commander of the “Northern Bloc” - Rodrigo Perez, a.k.a. “Julian Bolivar”
Former commander of the Central Bolivar Bloc - Fredy Rendon, a.k.a. “El Aleman”
Former commander of the Elmer Cardenas Bloc - Edwar Cobos, a.k.a. “Diego Vecino”
Former commander of the Montes de Maria Bloc - Hector German Buitrago, a.k.a. “Martin Llanos”
Former commander of the Casanare Campesino Self-Defense Forces
“We still want to give the managers, these members of the AUC [United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia] and other forces commonly known as paramilitaries, the opportunity to continue, so to speak, this process,” said Peace Commissioner Otty Patiño in a video statement.
Last year, President Gustavo Petro announced his willingness to finalize the demobilization process that began in 2004 but was never finalized.
Salvatore, ‘Macaco’, ‘Jorge 40’ we can reactivate the peace table because the process is not over, the assets that you handed over to justice have not been handed over to the victims, the process is not over, it was interrupted and for that I propose to install the table to finalize the peace process that Alvaro Uribe Velez started with you, this time without betrayal and without fear of the truth, which existed at that time.
Gustavo Petro
Former president Alvaro Uribe had betrayed deals made with the AUC and extradited its commanders to the US, as their cooperation with justice began linking dozens of political allies and family members to crimes against humanity.
In order to restart the process, Petro created a technical working group led by the Minister of the Interior, which also includes the Administrative Department of the Presidency and the Office of the Commissioner for Peace.
Earlier this year, the commanders suspended their cooperation because of a “repeated failure to comply with commitments.”
The main reason was that the OCCP failed to follow up on the instructions of the president to involve the former AUC chiefs in finalization efforts.
Consequently, the former paramilitaries said the president would have to decide whether or not to revive their involvement in the government’s Total Peace program as formal “peace managers.”
