A jailed former paramilitary has escaped prison during an expedition to an alleged paramilitary mass grave.
According to media reports, the former paramilitary ringleader, Juan Manuel Barreto, alias “Javier,” fled Tuesday as he, his guards and a prosecutor were on the way back to jail after, on the request by the prosecution, he was taken to the location of a mass grave.
When “Javier,” who was traveling without handcuffs, left the vehicle in the town of Soledad to pick something up from a store, armed men opened fire at the guards.
The former paramilitary escaped on a motorbike as his accomplices, the guards and three nearby policemen exchanged fire.
One bystander, one passing motortaxi driver and one of the policemen were injured in the shooting.
One of the men who had helped “Javier” escape was arrested.