Colombian paramilitaries killed 25,000 people: report

Members of former far-right paramilitary groups in Colombia are responsible for about 25,000 murders in recent decades, a report says.

Around 3,700 militants took part in the violence over a period of 20 years. The perpetrators were offered an amnesty program between 2003 and 2006 that guaranteed them milder sentences of up to eight years if they confessed to their crimes, a report by the Attorney General’s Office in Bogota said on Wednesday.

Members of the disbanded United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) also admitted responsibility for the disappearance of 2,251 others and the kidnapping of 831 people. In total, authorities were able to find 2,100 graves with the remains of 2,562 people, the report added.

Former AUC members also told judiciary officials of numerous acts of collaboration with politicians, police and the military.

Efforts by Colombian President Alvaro Uribe led to the disarmament of some 31,000 paramilitaries between 2003 and 2006.

Some 247,000 citizens have filed claims as victims of the paramilitaries.


Articles by: Global Research

Disclaimer: The contents of this article are of sole responsibility of the author(s). The Centre for Research on Globalization will not be responsible for any inaccurate or incorrect statement in this article. The Centre of Research on Globalization grants permission to cross-post Global Research articles on community internet sites as long the source and copyright are acknowledged together with a hyperlink to the original Global Research article. For publication of Global Research articles in print or other forms including commercial internet sites, contact: [email protected]

www.globalresearch.ca contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available to our readers under the provisions of "fair use" in an effort to advance a better understanding of political, economic and social issues. The material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving it for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material for purposes other than "fair use" you must request permission from the copyright owner.

For media inquiries: [email protected]