The Colombian government will not negotiate with neo-paramilitary or drug gangs about the surrender of these groups, Interior Minister German Vargas Lleras said Thursday.
In an interview with W Radio, the minister said that members of groups formed from old drug cartels or demobilized paramilitary organization AUC can not count on any leniency in justice or benefits as granted to paramilitaries during their demobilization between 2003 and 2006.
According to Vargas Lleras, members of groups like “Los Rastrojos” or “Los Urabeños” who surrender to authorities must “submit to the norms of the penal procedural code.” The government will not carry out “any type of negotiation other than provided by the current regulations.”
Liberal Party leader Rafael Pardo bashed the AUC demobilization process Tuesday, claiming that the process did not lead to the demobilization of the organization, but to the “recycling” of its members.