Paramilitary organization AGC asked Colombia’s government to facilitate the repatriation of former leaders who were controversially extradited to the United States.
The request received the support of Salvatore Mancuso, the former commander of the AGC’s predecessor AUC.
In a pamphlet, the AGC requested the repatriation of Daniel Rendon, a.k.a. “Don Mario,” and Dario Antonio Usuga, a.k.a. “Otoniel.”
According to the clandestine organization, the return of Don Mario and Otoniel would allow victims of the paramilitaries to learn the truth about their participation in Colombia’s armed conflict.
The truths that the gentlemen were beginning to unveil are very important to clarify decades of conflict… These truths are indispensable in the necessary reparations that must be made to the victims of the conflict. If we want to put the victims at the center of any process of reparation and reconciliation in Colombia, they must know firsthand what happened in a conflict as degrading as ours.
Gaitanista Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC)
The cooperation of the former paramilitary commanders with justice was interrupted by what the AGC called their “hasty extradition” to the United States.
Mancuso, who was appointed “peace manager” by the government, said in a statement that he agreed with the AGC’s repatriation request.
The former AUC commander additionally said it would be “very useful” to repatriate extradited former AUC commanders like Diego Murillo, a.k.a. “Don Berna,” and Ramiro Vanoy, a.k.a. “Cuco Vanoy.”
According to Mancuso, the extradited paramilitary commanders have a “unique understanding of the most hidden organization networks” that would help Colombia to “address the roots of the conflict” that left more than 9 million victims.
The former AUC commander has been waiting for his own repatriation in order to begin his work as advisor to the peace process and possible mediator with groups like the AGC.
Don Mario was extradited in 2018 and is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence. Otoniel was extradited in 2022 and has since been sentenced to 45 years in prison.
