Former commander of the paramilitary organization AUC “Martin Llanos” has accepted responsibility for the 1997 Mapiripan massacre in central Colombia,, reported local media Monday.
Llanos, whose real name is Hector German Buitrago Parada, acknowledged his participation during a judicial process against him on charges of aggravated homicide, aggravated kidnapping and terrorism.
Llanos is currently incarcerated in a Bogota prison after he was arrested in Venezuela in February along with his brother.
The family of Martin Llanos were commanders and founding members of paramilitary group the ACC, a group of the now-demobilized paramilitary umbrella organization AUC.
The slaughter in Mapiripan, a town in the Colombian department Meta, occurred between 15 and 20 July when about 100 paramilitaries raided the area, killing, torturing and kidnapping its inhabitants. During the five days the paramilitaries encountered no resistance from the Colombian authorities.
It is thought that at least ten people were killed in the massacre although it seems impossible to tell after reports of fraudulent claims of death came to light after the event.
Colombia’s Prosecutor General’s Office afterwards claimed that only ten people were killed, while Colombia’s Supreme Court later convicted AUC leader Salvatore Mancuso for having plotted the massacre that according to the sentence had 77 victims.