Paramilitaries ordered to testify in murder trial of former DAS official .
Source: Colombia Reports
Paramilitaries ordered to testify in murder trial of former DAS official .
Monday, 04 June 2012 12:14 Christan Leonard
A Bogota judge ordered five paramilitary leaders who are currently being held in the U.S. to testify in the murder trial of a former top official in Colombia's Department of Administrative Security (DAS), Jose Miguel Narvaez, newspaper El Espectador reported Monday.
Narvaez, who was assistant director of the now-defunct state intelligence agency, is under investigation for involvement in the August 1999 murder of journalist and political cartoonist Jaime Garzon.
The judge ordered testimony from paramilitary leaders Salvatore Mancuso, Diego Murillo, alias 'Don Berna,' Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, alias 'Jorge 40,' Freddy Rendón Herrera, alias 'El Aleman' and Ivan Roberto Duque, alias 'HH.'
Don Berna's testimony is considered especially important since he has previously stated that Narvaez ordered former AUC leader Carlos Castano to threaten the life of Garzon for sympathizing and collaborating with the National Liberation Army, Colombia's second largest insurgency group.
Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/24401-paramilitaries-ordered-to-testify-in-murder-trial-of-former-das-official.html
