Juan Monsalve, who has coordinated with congressman Ivan Cepeda to deliver testimony against Uribe, has received threats in the past. Cepeda requested enhanced security measures for Monsalve in September 2011 after he survived an attack in prison.
Monsalve claims that former president Uribe formed a paramilitary group at his country estate, “Las Guacharacas” in north eastern Antioquia.
In statements to the prosecutor general Monsalve asserted that the paramilitary group known as the Metro Bloc was created in response to a 1995 attack on the Uribe estate in which property was burned and 600 cattle were stolen by the ELN guerrilla group. Monsalve stated that he had worked on the estate previous to the attack. He confessed to have joined the ranks of the Metro Bloc and claimed that the estate served as a military base.