32 politicians arrested on paramilitary commander’s testimony, at least 23 more to go in northwester [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

32 politicians arrested on paramilitary commander’s testimony, at least 23 more to go in northwestern Colombia
Aug 28, 2014 posted by Steven Cohen

The capture of some 32 local politicians in northwestern Colombia Wednesday is only the start of a much larger purge ordered by the state on the strength of testimony provided by a demobilized paramilitary commander, local media reported.

For years, Freddy Rendon, alias “El Aleman,” led the Elmer Cardenas bloc, one of the most powerful and violent regional units in the now-defunct AUC national paramiltary umbrella. El Aleman alone is thought to have ordered and participated in dozens of murders and massacres, displacing thousands in the nortwest coastal region of Uraba, the birthplace of Colombia’s modern paramilitary phenomenon.

~snip~
On the basis of his testimony, judges have now issued some 50 new warrants for the arrests of various local politicians previously backed by the AUC during the group’s “For a Strong Uraba, Unity and Peace” inititative, which attempted to infiltrate local power structures by placing AUC allies in office.

~snip~
Indeed, El Aleman has testified that Santiago Uribe, the brother of the former president, facilitated meetings between regional paramilitary commanders and the Chiquita Brands multinational fruit company, which is facing a class action suit in the United States launched by victims of parmailitary violence.

Other multinatioanls in the region, including Coca Cola and Dole Fruits, face similar charges, and there is extensive evidence that former President Uribe himself, now a senator, played an integral role in promoting paramilitarism, especially in Antioquia, where he served as governor.

http://colombiareports.co/32-politicians-arrested-paramilitary-commanders-testimony-least-23-go-northwestern-colombia/