Former Colombian paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso released from prison after months of seeking his freedom

He Former paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancusowho was one of the protagonists of the armed conflict in Colombia, left a Bogotá prison on Wednesday after months of asking the courts for his freedom with the promise of collaborating in the government’s rapprochement with illegal armed groups, the Colombian penitentiary institute reported.

Mancuso, who has been imprisoned in Colombia since February, was released after appearing before several courts in Colombia and they notified the Penitentiary Institute that he no longer has orders to deprive him of his liberty after being accused of thousands of crimes, most of them committed when he commanded the extinct United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

The former paramilitary was deported to Colombia on February 27 from the United States, where he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for having directed the manufacture and shipment of more than 100,000 kilograms of cocaine. In 2020, he served his sentence in that country.

Shortly before his release, the National Penitentiary and Prison Institute (INPEC) said in a statement that Mancuso would be released after submitting 31 documents to judicial offices to review his file and rule out preventive detention measures.

“After completing the administrative process, the Inpec… issued the concept of viability that grants Salvatore Mancuso freedom,” the statement added.

The institute said it had asked the National Protection Unit, which is responsible for protecting people under threat or at risk, to take steps to ensure their safety.

Mancuso’s case is unique for Colombian justice because he appears before two special courts: the Justice and Peace Court, created for paramilitaries who laid down their weapons in early 2005, and the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP), which judges members of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group, whether military or civilian, who committed crimes during more than five decades of internal armed conflict.

Upon his release from prison, Mancuso is expected to act as a “peace broker” and collaborate in the government’s rapprochement with armed groups after being designated as such by President Gustavo Petro.

It is not clear what negotiations Mancuso would be involved in. However, Petro opened the door to dialogue with the Clan del Golfo, a paramilitary group that is the largest active drug cartel.

Mancuso has promised to reveal details of the armed conflict. In confidential statements before the JEP, he has named more than 300 people, including former state officials and former governors such as Álvaro Uribe Vélez (2002-2010), whom Mancuso said he met as governor of Antioquia (1995-1997) about a massacre. Uribe has denied these claims.

As a paramilitary commander, he racked up thousands of crimes for which he continued to answer since he laid down his arms, including bloody massacres such as those in El Aro and La Granja, in which dozens of people were killed, accusing them of supporting or belonging to guerrilla groups.

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