Colombian ex-paramilitary leader jailed for crimes against Indigenous groups

"A Colombian court has sentenced a former paramilitary leader to 40 years in prison for crimes committed against Indigenous communities in the province of La Guajira, including homicides, forced disappearances and the displacement of people from 2002 to 2006. The special tribunal that hears cases from the country's armed conflict said in its ruling that Salvatore Mancuso was responsible for 117 crimes committed by fighters under his command in La Guajira."

"The former paramilitary leader, who also holds Italian citizenship, was denied several requests to be sent to Italy after completing his sentence in the US, where he had been extradited in 2008. In the late 1990s, Mancuso was one of the commanders of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a rightwing paramilitary faction that worked with drug traffickers and the country's business, military and political elite to sow terror and wipe out leftwing insurgencies."

Salvatore Mancuso was sentenced to 40 years for 117 crimes against Indigenous communities in La Guajira, including homicides, forced disappearances and displacement from 2002 to 2006. The sentence can be reduced to eight years if he collaborates with truth and reparation activities that benefit victims. Mancuso was repatriated to Colombia in 2024 after serving a US prison term for drug trafficking; he had been extradited in 2008. Mancuso served as a late-1990s commander of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a rightwing paramilitary faction accused of killing hundreds of civilians. The AUC began disarmament in 2003 and successor armed groups later emerged.

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