Another extradited paramilitary commander testified against the former security adviser of ex-President Alvaro Uribe, who has been accused of working with drug trafficking organizations, local media reported Thursday.
Former AUC commander Francisco Zuluaga Lindo, alias “Gordolindo”, told Colombian prosecutors former National Police General Mauricio Santoyo received close to $300,000 for warning members of the crime syndicate, Oficina de Envigado, about a police raid.
Gordolindo, who is serving 20 years in a Florida jail for drug trafficking, claimed Santoyo also collaborated with former paramilitary leader Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano, alias “Don Berna“, who ran both the crime syndicate, Oficina de Envigado, and two blocs of the paramilitary group, the AUC, at various times, reported Radio Caracol Thursday.
The U.S. case against Santoyo began with testimonies from the former AUC commanders Salvatore Mancuso and Juan Carlos Sierra, alias “El Tuso”, who claimed that Santoyo collaborated with them on a wide range of activities related to drug trafficking.
While allegedly being a paramilitary informant, Santoyo served as security advisor to former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe during his first administration between 2002 and 2006.