The U.S. Attorney’s office has called for a 15-year prison sentence to be handed to ex-president Alvaro Uribe‘s then-security chief for supporting paramilitary organization AUC, reported local media Monday.
Retired General Mauricio Santoyo has already pleaded guilty to the charges of supporting the drug-trafficking AUC paramilitary organization while working as former president Uribe’s top security aide.
U.S. authorities believe that due to the seriousness of these crimes he should be made an example of and thus receive the maximum sentence possible.
Meanwhile Santoyo’s defense is calling for a much more lenient sentence of 10 years, pointing to his 25 years in the National Police and his heroism to stop attacks against Uribe during his time as president.
Santoyo’s lawyers also included details of his willingness to cooperate ahead of the investigations from the DEA in a 30-page document to the judge.
The retired general has admitted to receiving payments from the now-defunct AUC and Medellin-based crime syndicate Oficina de Envigado to leak classified information and results of illegal wiretaps about rival drug traffickers.
He has also been linked with ties to former AUC commanders Salvatore Mancuso and “Macaco.”
Santoyo’s fate will be determined this Friday in a court in Virginia.