Colombia’s war crimes tribunal to press criminal charges...
Colombia jails US citizen on femicide charges
Colombia preparing tropical paradise for tourism after 500...
Hacktivists leak 178,000 documents from Colombia’s military
Colombia’s sentenced for exterminating political party
Colombia’s capital Bogota awarded for failing crime policy
OAS urges Colombia to release people arrested over...
Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord
Colombia’s GDP and GNI
Panama arrests US citizen suspected in Colombia of...
  • About
  • Support
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion
News

‘Paramilitarism is extinct’: Govt rejects HRW report

by Hannah Stone February 4, 2010

human rights watch, HRW

The director of Colombia’s Presidential Human Rights Program responded on Wednesday to Human Rights Watch’s damning new report on violent groups in Colombia, claiming that “Paramilitarism in Colombia is extinct and its leaders are in jail.”

Carlos Franco Echevarria argued in a statement that the violent groups are not neo-paramilitaries, which have risen to take the place of demobilized paramilitary groups, but rather are organized criminal gangs distinct from paramilitarism.

“What the government differs on is the nature of the problem. We do not believe that it is an extension of paramilitarism, but a problem caused by drug trafficking,” said Franco.

Wednesday’s HRW report blamed the rise of the gangs in part on the government, which it said had failed to fully eradicate the power structures of defunct paramilitary coalition the AUC, thus allowing to the rise of new groups to take its place.

Franco’s statement also revealed that the government has invited the Americas Director of HRW, Jose Miguel Vivanco, and his team to a meeting with the Intelligence Committee to discuss the report in depth.

This stands in contrast to the statement from Defense Minister Gabriel Silva earlier on Wednesday, which said that the HRW report deliberately sought to undermine the government’s Democratic Security Policy, and that Silva had canceled a meeting planned with Vivanco that afternoon.

HRWHuman Rights Watchjose miguel vivancoparamilitaries

Trending

  • Panama arrests US citizen suspected in Colombia of murdering fiancé

  • Colombia’s capital Bogota awarded for failing crime policy

  • Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord

For patrons

Downloads for patrons

Related articles

  • Colombia’s war crimes tribunal hears notorious former warlord

  • Colombia’s prosecution blocks talks to dismantle paramilitary groups

  • Poverty, violence and Colombia’s State failures main human rights concerns in 2022: HRW

  • Twitter
  • Email
  • Rss

@2008-2019 - Colombia Reports. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Digitale Zaken and Parrolabs


Back To Top
Colombia News | Colombia Reports
  • News
    • General
    • Analysis
    • War and peace
    • Elections
    • Economy
    • Culture
    • Sports
    • Science and Tech
  • Travel
    • General
    • Bogota
    • Medellin
    • Cali
    • Cartagena
    • Antioquia
    • Caribbean
    • Pacific
    • Coffee region
    • Amazon
    • Southwest Colombia
    • Northeast Colombia
    • Central Colombia
  • Data
    • Economy
    • Crime and security
    • War and peace
    • Development
    • Cities
    • Regions
    • Provinces
  • Profiles
    • Organized crime
    • Politics
    • Armed conflict
    • Economy
    • Sports
  • Lite
  • Opinion