Colombia’s defense ministry issued a $1 million reward on Sunday for information that would lead to the arrest of fugitive FARC leader “El Paisa,” who is wanted by the country’s war crimes tribunal.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) ordered the arrest of the former guerrilla commander for “seriously violating” the conditions that allowed him to maintain his freedom while he is investigated for war crimes.
El Paisa, whose real name is Hernan Dario Velasquez, went into hiding last year after the arrest of the FARC’s long-time ideologue “Jesus Santrich” on an unsubstantiated US drug trafficking charge.
The former elite guerrilla commander has since failed to comply with his obligations with the war crimes tribunal that is investigating him and 30 other FARC leaders for the mass kidnapping of civilians during Colombia’s armed conflict.
El Paisa and the FARC’s political leader, “Ivan Marquez,” have said they would cooperate with the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) once they receive the judicial security they won’t be extradited to the United States as agreed in the 2016 peace deal that led to their demobilization and disarmament.
The ex-guerrilla chief is part of a group of former mid-level commanders who have claimed that the government has consistently failed to comply with the peace deal in regards to reintegration, judicial security and personal safety.
Furthermore, the missing rebel commanders believe that the US government is trying to sabotage the country’s peace process in order to seek their extradition.
The JEP has so far prevented the extradition of Santrich. The constitutional court additionally strengthened the transitional justice system’s powers to prevent that alleged war criminals are extradited without responding to justice in Colombia about crimes against humanity.
The extradition of 18 demobilized paramilitary warlords in 2008 deprived 240,000 victims of war crimes of justice, according to judicial experts and victim organizations.
While El Paisa has lost his right to freedom, he continues to be shielded from extradition in order to protect the rights of victims, according to the JEP.