First 'parapolitician' accepts plea bargain

[Judi Lynn]

First 'parapolitician' accepts plea bargain
Friday, 26 November 2010 07:28
Adriaan Alsema

http://colombiareports.com.nyud.net:8090/pics/2010/11/valencia_duque.jpg

For the first time since Colombia began prosecuting politicians for ties to paramilitary groups, a former congressman is to plead guilty in exchange for a reduced sentence.

Former Representative Ramon Antonio Valencia Duque will admit that he used the support of now-demobilized paramilitary warlords "H.H." and "El Aleman" to win a Congress seat in 2006 for the coalition Alas Aquipo Colombia party, several media report.

The former congressman was arrested in March 2008 and hopes his confession will allow him to serve his detention at home.

Valencia Duque is one of dozens of former lawmakers who used the power of the paramilitary AUC to be voted into Congress.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13123-first-parapolitician-to-accept-plea-bargain.html

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A "homie" who made Valencia Duque's political/social ambitions come true:

Supreme Court denies 'El Aleman' extradition
Tuesday, 04 May 2010 16:34
Cameron Sumpter

http://colombiareports.com.nyud.net:8090/pics/paramilitary/freddy_rendon.jpg

Colombia's Supreme Court on Tuesday denied the U.S.'s extradition request for Freddy "El Aleman" Rendon Herrera, a former top paramilitary leader wanted by the U.S. for drug trafficking.

A court spokesman said Herrera must answer to Colombian justice and make reparations to his victims before the issue of extradition can be addressed.

El Aleman is currently taking part in the Justice and Peace process, in which demobilized paramilitaries are given reduced sentences in exchange for confessing the truth about their crimes and paying reparations to victims.

former fighter was close to the notorious Carlos Castaño, who founded paramilitary group the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Cordoba and Uraba. He was sentenced to fourteen years in prison in October last year for the murder of a child, and has accepted responsibility for the deaths of 451 other people between 1996 and 2001.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/9532-supreme-court-denies-el-aleman-extradition.html

http://images.canaldenoticia.com.nyud.net:8090/2010/agosto/aliasx180810-01.jpg
(google translation)
Alias 'The German' gave coordinates of mass graves
June 11, 2010 7:51 pm

In the deposition given to the prosecutor 48 of the National Justice and Peace in Medellin, Freddy Rendón Herrera, aka 'The German', former leader of the Elmer Cárdenas Bloc of the AUC, which gave the coordinates were numerous mass graves.
In his statement, alias' The German 'explained that these mass graves the corpses of victims would be finalized between 1994 and 1997 by groups known as' The Huelengues',' The Brown 'and block' Elmer Cárdenas. "

He added that the coordinates correspond to an area near the town of Necoclí (Antioquia).

http://www.radiosantafe.com/2010/06/11/alias-el-aleman-entrego-coordenadas-de-fosas-comunes/

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The other death squad "homie" upon whom Valencia Duque depended upon to help him in his climb to "the top:"

Extradition 'HH' leaves hundreds of questions unanswered
Wednesday, 04 March 2009 18:39
Adriaan Alsema

http://colombiareports.com.nyud.net:8090/pics/2009/03/hh.jpg

The extradition of former paramilitary boss Hebert 'HH' Veloza -- expected within 24 hours -- leaves crimes against thousands and the disappearance of dozens unanswered.

'HH' will be taken to the United States where he faces charges for drug trafficking and is the fifteenth leader of the demobilized AUC to be extradited and face U.S. justice within a year.

His extradition comes too soon for him to finish his collaboration with Colombian Justice and to confess the crimes he committed as one of the most feared leaders of the AUC.

Victims of paramilitary violence object to the extradition, saying the reparation process isn't over.

According to newspaper El Espectador 11,000 crimes are still unanswered. Most are about the massive forced displacement that took place in areas where 'HH' and his Block ruled, but also include the unsolved forced disappearance and probable death of 177 people.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/3114-extradition-hh-leaves-hundreds-of-questions-unanswered.html

http://4.bp.blogspot.com.nyud.net:8090/_GV5o2IEg_Bc/SKHSex1NEPI/AAAAAAAADvY/IalWgud_-v4/s400/ever-veloza-alias-hh.jpg http://www.elcolombiano.com.nyud.net:8090/BancoMedios/Imagenes/hebertveloza.jpg

Hebert Veloza Garcia
Colombia extradites paramilitary leader to US over rights groups protests
Hebert Veloza Garcia's extradition will stymie efforts to find justice for his victims, say Colombian human rights groups.

By Arthur Bright / March 6, 2009

Colombia has extradited Hebert Veloza Garcia, one of its "most feared" former paramilitary leaders, to the United States on drug-trafficking charges, despite requests from Colombian human rights groups that Mr. Veloza's extradition be delayed until he had more completely detailed the crimes committed under his command.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Veloza was flown to New York in US Drug Enforcement Administration custody Thursday, and will face trial on drug charges in the US. Veloza, also known as "HH," led paramilitary fighters in northern Colombia who killed hundreds of leftist guerilla sympathizers and displaced thousands more before being captured in 2007, but human rights groups believe that he has yet to reveal all the crimes in which he was involved.

Half a dozen Colombian human rights groups wrote a letter last month to U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. asking that he delay the transfer of Veloza until after judicial proceedings here that focus on alleged paramilitary atrocities....
Seeking to avoid extradition, he became a highly cooperative witness before special tribunals set up to investigate paramilitary crimes. Paramilitary units were formed in the 1980s by cattlemen and farmers to defend against leftist guerrillas. However, they later branched out into drug trafficking and organized crime.
During dozens of appearances at the tribunals, Veloza acknowledged ordering massacres, personally killing more than 100 people, and participating in thousands of other crimes, including extortion and forced displacement of impoverished farmers.

More:
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/terrorism-security/2009/0306/p99s01-duts.html