Partial Revival of Colombia
Paramilitarism Warned
BOGOTA - At least 10 percent of the
paramilitaries demobilized in Colombia
retook up arms, attracted by economic
incentives offered by the illegal armed
groups, according to an institutional report
published on Thursday. Colombia's National
Committee of Reparation and Reconciliation (CNRR)
exhorted President Alvaro Uribe to take this
trend into account and increase his
attention on this group of potentially
criminal individuals.
CNRR leader Eduardo Pizarro told Radio
Caracol station the State offered an amount
of money, similar to that of a minimum wage,
while these illegal groups offer thousands
of dollars a month.
Pizarro admitted that there has been partial
failure regarding demobilization of those
criminal organizations because many
middle-ranking officers replace their
superiors that have been arrested by the
authorities.
Four years after enforcing the Justice and
Peace Law in Colombia, several reports
questioned the results of a process that had
distanced 35 thousand paramilitary men from
arms between 2003 and 2006.
Political analysts pointed out that some
indicators are false and imprecise, and
confuse the public opinion.
The National Police considers that there are
nearly 1,200 ex members of the so called
United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia, who
returned to the criminal path, beneath the
facade of new groups.
Those individuals are now part of gangs, as
Los Urabenos, Los Rastrojos, Los Paisas, Los
Machos, Nueva Generacion, the group of
Magdalena Medio, Renacer, and the Aguilas
Negras.
Other statistics reveal that there are 5,300
demobilized paramilitary members that have
been arrested for other crimes, while others
have been murdered in the streets since 2003
to date. |
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