A former governor of a southeastern department in Colombia was sentenced to 90 months in prison for ties with paramilitaries, reported Colombian press Tuesday.
El Especatador reports that the Supreme Court sentenced the former governor of Guaviare Oscar Jesus Lopez to seven years and six months in prison for crimes against humanity stemming from his involvement in the formulation of paramilitary groups.
Lopez, who was arrested in 2009, reportedly had ties with the deceased former paramilitary leader and drug lord Pedro Oliveiro Guerrero, alias “Cuchillo.” Cuchillo was a high ranking official of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) and later the leader of the Popular Revolutionary Anti-terrorist Army of Colombia (ERPAC).
During the Clinton administration, Lopez was named by U.S. State Department as a collaborator with paramilitaries, reports RCN Radio.
Lopez has been held in La Picota prison in Bogata since 2009.