Colombia’s prosecution accidentally torpedoed its attempts to block investigations into former President Alvaro Uribe’s ties to the now-defunct paramilitary organization AUC.
Prosecutor Gilberto Villareal summoned Mancuso to help shelve an investigation into Uribe’s alleged fraud and bribery practices.
The former president allegedly bribed witnesses to discredit former AUC fighters who have accused the former president of being a founder of the AUC’s “Bloque Metro” group.
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Villareal apparently forgot that the former AUC commander has accused Uribe of being complicit in crimes against humanity committed by the Bloque Metro and other paramilitary groups on multiple occasions.
Having discovered the latest prosecution blunder, the defense attorneys of Uribe’s alleged victims immediately requested to interrogate Mancuso.
This interrogation would allow Mancuso to go on the record about the former president’s alleged role in the formation of the Bloque Metro, a paramilitary massacre and the assassination of a human rights defender.
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On top of that, the attorneys vowed to interrogate Mancuso about the AUC’s support for Uribe’s successful campaign in the 2002 presidential elections.
While this was ongoing, the US government decided to repatriate Mancuso to Colombia last week.
In response, Uribe’s far-right Democratic Center party claimed that the return of the former AUC chief was part of a plot to “persecute” the former president.
According to the Democratic Center, Mancuso is seeking to avenge Uribe’s 2008 decision to extradite the former AUC commander with the help of President Gustavo Petro and war crimes tribunal JEP.
