A former member of the demobilized paramilitary group AUC has retracted damning testimony against a former governor of Santander, reported local media Tuesday.
Luis Fernando Morales, who demobilized from AUC’s Central Bolivar Bloc, contradicted his own version of events in the trial of ex-Governor Hugo Aguilar. In 2005 he told authorities that Aguilar met with senior commanders and promised the AUC he would collaborate with them in the several infrastructure projects. However, under examination by the prosecution, he has now withdrawn those claims before the Supreme Court.
The prosecution has been trying to prove Aguila’s ties with the Central Bolivar Bloc that was led by Carlos Mario Jimenez, alias “Macaco,” and Ivan Roberto Duque, alias “Ernesto Baez.” Aguila, who became famous in the 1990s as member of the police unit that killed Pablo Escobar, claimed the charges brought against him were part of a plan hatched by his political enemies.