Warlord: Ex-Colombia army chief aided militias

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Miami Herald

Posted on Tuesday, 03.03.09
Warlord: Ex-Colombia army chief aided militias
By FRANK BAJAK
Associated Press Writer

BOGOTA -- A Colombian warlord awaiting sentencing in New York City after pleading guilty to drug-trafficking charges says former army chief Gen. Mario Montoya mounted a joint operation with his illegal, far-right militia in late 2002.

Diego Fernando Murillo, better known as "Don Berna," says in an affidavit filed in a U.S. federal court in Manhattan last week that his fighters entered the hillside Medellin slum Comuna 13 in "an alliance" with troops under Montoya's command.

The affidavit supports a 2007 Los Angeles Times story that cited a leaked CIA memo accusing Montoya, then-commander of the Army's 4th Brigade, of joining forces with Murillo in the operation to remove leftist rebels from the barrio.

It was filed along with a motion by Murillo's attorney, Margaret Shalley, seeking to prevent the mother of a young man killed in Comuna 13 from testifying prior to his sentencing in hopes of receiving restitution.

Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/world/AP/story/931095.html

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http://www.elcolombiano.com.nyud.net:8090/proyectos/serieselcolombiano/fotos/conflicto_urbano/mayo2/montoya.jpg http://www.radiosantafe.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/general-montoya.jpg http://www.clarin.com.nyud.net:8090/diario/2006/02/22/thumb/t023dh01.jpg

General Mario Montoya

[L. Coyote]

1. The proper name is "right wing death squads"

Writing "illegal, far-right militia" is such a euphemism! Call them what they are, killers.

[Peace Patriot]

2. It's the Associated Pukes AND Miami Harry--a house of mirrors of lies.

But it's too early in the morning for me. I didn't catch that one.

Odd phrase, "far-right militia." I wonder what a "right militia" would be. Maybe they would just torture but not kill?

[EFerrari]

3. Murderers. And Bush gave Uribe the Medal of Freedom.

[Judi Lynn]

4. This kind of info. always gets swept under the carpet by our corporate perception molders:

From the article:

~snip~
Colombia's armed forces deny ties with the far-right militias, though human rights groups say they have long worked hand-in-glove with illegal private armies including the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, of which Murillo was a senior officer.

Prosecutors on Tuesday reaffirmed murder charges against an ex-general who various paramilitary leaders say worked closely with them, Rito Alejo del Rio. A former close associate of Uribe, he has been jailed since September.

The far-right militias, known locally as "paramilitaries," were initially formed by ranchers and drug traffickers to counter leftist rebel kidnappers. But in the mid-1990s they grew into powerful regional mafias that stole land, killed alleged rebel sympathizers and infiltrated national politics.

Colombian authorities documented serious abuses in the Comuna 13 operation, including at least nine killings. The human rights group Corporacion Juridica Libertad says at least 88 people were forcibly disappeared, and witnesses have testified that victims were ferried out of the neighborhood in vehicles past police and army checkpoints.

In the affidavit, Murillo says that as commander of the group known as the Bloque Cacique Nutibara, "I gave the order not to commit any unnecessary serious crimes in area, but I later found out that excesses were committed."

He also says his group "was funded by contributions from wealthy businessmen, business and hotel owners; taxes on buses and large businesses; money from siphoning gasoline from a pipeline; and taxes collected from narcotics traffickers."

Before joining the AUC, Murillo was a feared Medellin drug trafficker, working with the late drug lord Pablo Escobar before turning against him and joining a rival band called the PEPES that was widely credited with helping authorities hunt down Escobar and kill him in 1993.

http://www.cambio.com.co.nyud.net:8090/portadacambio/740/IMAGEN/IMAGEN-3710770-2.jpg

http://www.semana.com.nyud.net:8090/photos/generales/ImgArticulo_T1_59905_2009217_130550.jpg

Diego Fernando Murillo, "Don Berna"

[L. Coyote]

5. Truth like this is why we have propaganda.

[rabs]

6. The new Medellin Cartel

After Pablo Escobar was hunted down and killed in 1993, the Medellin Cartel splintered.

A few years ago it was resurrected by para-military narco traffickers. The new name is the "Oficina de Envigado." Envigado is an up-scale suburb of Medellin. "Don Berma" was only one of many paras, FARC and other traffickers Uribe sent to the bushie administration to keep the Plan Colombia billions coming. You will remember that Uribe and his father were linked to the Medellin Cartel but they were never prosecuted.

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“Oficina de Envigado”


Since the era of Pablo Escobar and the Medellín cartel, this name refers to the organized-crime structure that has controlled most of the narco business in Medellín and its environs. Envigado is a suburb to the south of Medellín.
It was controlled by paramilitary leader Diego Fernando Murillo (”Don Berna”) until his May 2008 extradition. Since then, the “Oficina” has been in some disarray, with greatly increased infighting, but it remains powerful.
Infighting for control of the “Oficina,” which has also involved the “Don Mario” organization, has increased violence rates in Medellín, leading Colombian National Police Chief Gen. Oscar Naranjo to spend a week there at the end of January.
Aliases of current leaders include “Nito,” “Yiyo,” “Beto,” “Douglas,” “Valenciano,” and “Gancho.” Other demobilized members of Don Berna’s former paramilitary organization, particularly two nicknamed “Rogelio” and “Danielito,” are also believed to be part of the leadership.
The “Oficina” maintains a militia called the “Paisas.” It operates in Antioquia department and along major drug-trafficking corridors in the Pacific and Atlantic coastal regions.

(Good background on link below, from three weeks ago.

http://www.cipcol.org/?p=742&cpage=1

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The Spanish government last Friday intercepted a trawler with 5,000 kilos of cocaine aboard off the Canary Islands.

Just another indication that Plan Colombia and the War on Drugs were a 6-billion dollar fiasco during the bushie years.