A former commander of a notorious Colombian paramilitary faction has been handed a four-decade prison sentence for a litany of crimes committed against Indigenous populations.
Court Details Atrocities in La Guajira
A special tribunal established to adjudicate cases from Colombia's long-running internal conflict ruled that Salvatore Mancuso was responsible for 117 separate crimes. These offences were carried out by fighters under his command in the northern province of La Guajira between 2002 and 2006.
The court found the former leader of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) culpable for homicides, forced disappearances, and the violent displacement of people from Indigenous communities. However, the ruling stipulated that his 40-year sentence could be reduced to just eight years if he fully collaborates with truth-telling and reparation activities designed to benefit his victims.
A Notorious Figure in a Decades-Long Conflict
Mancuso, 61, is a pivotal and controversial figure in Colombia's violent history. In the late 1990s, he was a senior commander of the AUC, a right-wing paramilitary organisation. The group collaborated with drug traffickers and sectors of the country's elite to combat left-wing guerrilla insurgencies, often through brutal tactics that targeted civilians.
His recent sentencing is part of Colombia's complex efforts to reckon with a conflict that, according to a 2022 truth commission report, claimed at least 450,000 lives between 1985 and 2018.
Mancuso was extradited to the United States in 2008, where he served a lengthy prison sentence for drug trafficking. After his release in February 2024, he was deported back to Colombia. Despite initial custody, he was freed in July after courts found no pending sentences against him at the time.
From Prisoner to 'Peace Facilitator'
In a striking turn of events, upon his repatriation, Mancuso was appointed a 'peace facilitator' by Colombia's President, Gustavo Petro. This designation allows him to act as a mediator in the government's ongoing peace talks with active armed groups, including the Gulf Clan.
The Gulf Clan, designated a foreign terrorist organisation by the US, is considered a successor to the demobilised AUC. This highlights the enduring challenge of achieving lasting peace, as former paramilitary structures have often regenerated into new criminal enterprises.
The AUC as a formal entity began to disarm in 2003 following a peace deal with the government, which offered reduced sentences to its leaders. Mancuso's current legal situation, where his prison term hinges on cooperation, echoes the conditional justice frameworks of that earlier process.
