BOGOTA — Salvatore Mancuso, who was one of the most feared paramilitaries in Colombia, said on Thursday that he has asked the Venezuelan regime for permission to enter its territory and search for the bodies of people that the paramilitaries took to the border to cover their tracks.
Dressed in civilian clothes and having regained his freedom the day before after serving time in prison in the United States and Colombia, the former paramilitary told the press in Bogotá that he owes an “apology” to the victims left by the paramilitaries in the Colombian armed conflict who are in Venezuelan territory.
Mancuso said last year in hearings before the Colombian Peace Tribunal that Paramilitaries created clandestine crematoriums to make bodies disappear on the border with Venezuela and bodies of Colombian victims that were taken to the Venezuelan state of Zulia to cover their trail.
Forced disappearance
Paramilitary groups were responsible for the Forced disappearance of more than 63,000 peopleaccording to the Truth Commission, an extrajudicial body whose function was to clarify the events that occurred during five decades of internal conflict.
Mancuso has been charged with thousands of crimes and forced disappearances in Colombia.
The National Penitentiary and Prison Institute issued a statement on Tuesday detailing that Mancuso was released after verifying his legal situation with dozens of judicial offices and ruling out preventive detention measures.
The former paramilitary man had been deprived of his liberty in a high-security prison in Bogotá since February, when he was deported from the United States after serving a sentence in that country for drug trafficking.
In 2008, Mancuso was extradited to the United States along with 13 paramilitary leaders wanted for drug trafficking. In that country he was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for manufacturing and shipping more than 100,000 kilograms of cocaine when he was paramilitary.
The former paramilitary member was a representative of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia in the peace talks with the government that led to their demobilization, with which the paramilitaries received legal benefits of eight years in prison in exchange for their submission.
In 2008, Mancuso was extradited by the government of Álvaro Uribe (2002-2010) to the United States along with 13 paramilitary leaders wanted for drug trafficking. In that country he was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for manufacturing and shipping more than 100,000 kilograms of cocaine when he was a paramilitary.
Petro’s “peace manager”
Once released, Mancuso said he would immediately act as a “peace broker,” a role assigned to him by Colombian President Gustavo Petro to “collaborate” in the government’s rapprochement with armed groups, especially those of paramilitary descent.
Now, the former drug trafficker and paramilitary man speaks of “peace.” “Nobody wins the war, I invite you to take a step towards total peace. I promise the Colombians that I will use this second opportunity to contribute to reconciliation,” said Mancuso.
Source: With information from AP