‘Cuco’ Vanoy and ‘Gordo Lindo’, two top paramilitary leaders extradited
to the U.S. earlier this year were sentenced to more than 20 years in
prison for drug trafficking by a Florida judge Thursday. Critics said
the process will block justice for their victims.
Ramiro ‘Cuco’ Vanoy (24 years) and Francisco Zuluaga, a.k.a. ‘Gordo Lindo’ (21 years), are the first of 14 paramilitaries extradited in May to the U.S. on drug trafficking charges to be tried and sentenced.
The sentencing of Zuluaga, a well-known drug trafficker, ends one of the more creative bids to reduce his term.
As the Justice and Peace accords were being finalized, he reputedly paid millions of dollars for command of a paramilitary block, in a bid to legalize his millions in drug profits and limit jail time.
Ramiro Vanoy’s story is equally fascinating. He is rumored to have been a close associate of Pablo Escobar during the eighties, until a falling out turned them into bitter enemies, reported Semana, citing web portal Verdad Abierta.
After Escobar was killed, Vanoy reportedly allied with another paramilitary to export drugs to Mexico and the United States.