Ever Velosa, alias ‘HH,’ holds the sinister record of having confessed to being involved in at least 1,200 crimes, the newspaper reported citing the public prosecutor’s office.Sources close to the investigation, however, warned reporters that some former bosses of the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) tend to complicate investigation by frequently recanting previous statements.According to public prosecutors, the ‘king of recantations’ is Salvatore Mancuso, who was the top boss of the paramilitaries at the time peace negotiations with the government concluded.Talks between the Colombian government and the AUC were held between 2003 and 2006 and led to the demobilization of more than 31,000 members of the extreme-right armed groups, accused of numerous human rights violations.The paramilitaries at the time accepted a controversial plan proposed by the government and approved by Congress which granted them jail terms of 4-8 years. Several non-governmental organizations complained that the penalties were ‘very low.’Several of the bosses of the AUC are currently in prison and are being investigated. However, more than 19,000 former members of the group are in legal limbo since last year, after the Colombian Supreme Court determined that they cannot be tried for political crimes.The government intended that these former fighters be tried for sedition, whereas the Supreme Court established that they should be tried for criminal conspiracy.
