“Macaco,” a prominent ex-member of the paramilitary AUC coalition will be expelled from Colombia’s Justice and Peace program for not collaborating with prosecutors.
According to newspaper El Tiempo, Macaco, whose real name is Carlos Mario Jimenez, continued to commit crimes after undergoing the demobilization process, and also hid assets that should have contributed to reparations for victims of the AUC paramilitary organization.
PROFILE: AUC
According to Colombia’s Justice and Peace law, demobilized members of paramilitary groups will be given a maximum of eight years in prison, regardless of the severity of their criminal record, if they admit to their crimes and collaborate with justice. According to Colombia’s prosecutor general, Macaco failed to collaborate with prosecutors and has not admitted to links with established politicians and the Colombian military.
Macaco is currently serving a 33-year prison sentence in the United States for drug trafficking realized during his time as commander of the Central Bolivar Bloc, a subdivision of the AUC.
Macaco was one of the main leaders of the AUC’s Central Bolivar Bloc, which demobilized its 2,519 members on January 31 2006.
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Other former paramilitaries who could be expelled from Justice and Peace include “Don Mario,” the financial chief of the paramilitary Centauros Bloc, “Don Berna,” leader of the Medellin-based Cacique Nutibara Bloc and “Gordolindo.”
The bloc is thought to have victimized between 14,000 and 22,000 during its 10 years of existence. Under the Justice and Peace law, victims are defined as those assassinated, displaced and disappeared due to violence by armed actors.
