JUSTICE
Colombia: former paramilitary commander Salvatore Mancuso will return to the country as "peace officer"
August 16, 2023 @ 10:49
The former Italian-Colombian paramilitary commander Salvatore Mancuso is expected to regain his freedom upon his return to Colombia thanks to his appointment as "peace officer" by President Gustavo Petro, according to statements by Colombian Justice Minister Néstor Osuna.
In the afternoon of August 14, it was actually announced that Petro formalized the decision, already announced, after the former paramilitary leader had offered to collaborate with the Colombian justice system. Minister Osuna clarified that, although Mancuso could be released as a peace agent, this "does not free him from judicial obligations. He has many ongoing trials in Colombia that are still being processed ”, including the sentences that he has not served in the country for the facts of the armed conflict.
Mancuso was head of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, the "historic" Colombian paramilitary formation; detained in the USA since 2007 for crimes related to international drug trafficking, which also involved the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta; in 2020 he had asked President Biden to be extradited to Italy and not to Colombia. At the time there was a strong international pressure campaign for Mancuso to return to Colombia instead, where he was the protagonist of an important and sad season of violence and, consequently, a potentially disruptive witness.