Alias ‘Macaco’, the first former AUC commander to be extradited to the United States. © Jorge Mata / SURIMAGES-IPA

Article published in ColomPBIa no 7 in may 2008.
 

The sensitive subject of the extradition of demobilised paramilitary commanders dominated the Colombian press throughout the months of April and May this year, once more highlighting discrepancies between the Government’s official line on the paramilitary demobilisation process, and the opinion of victims’ organisations. The Supreme Court of Justice ruled in favour of extraditing Carlos Mario Jiménez, alias ‘Macaco’, to the United States on drug trafficking charges. The Government authorized his extradition, even though the Court had conditioned its ruling on the fulfillment of the victims´ rights. ‘Macaco’ is the first former paramilitary commander from the notorious United Self Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC) to be extradited to the United States. As head of the demobilised AUC ‘Bloque Central Bolívar’ regional command, he was among those listed as ‘extraditable’ who turned themselves in to be tried under Law 975 of 2005, which offers benefits to demobilised paramilitaries who fully collaborate with the fact finding process and provide complete confessions about the crimes committed. Apart from thousands of murders and other crimes ‘Macaco’ must answer for, he is also considered to be one of the most powerfull drug traffickers in Colombia.

The Government of President Álvaro Uribe Vélez supported the decision to extradite ‘Macaco’ on the basis that the former paramilitary had continued his criminal activities from inside Itagüí prison after his official demobilisation. Arguing that extradition is a necessary mechanism in the fight against terrorism, the Colombian President assured the country that «to not extradite him would be to weaken Democratic Security and increase the risk for victims and for all those citizens who could be potential victims».¹ As stipulated in Chapter II of Law 975, ‘Macaco’ did not cease his illicit activities and should therefore lose all the benefits of this Law which reduces sentences against demobilised combatants to a maximum of eight years. This argument was also put forward by the Movement of Victims of State Crimes (MOVICE). In addition, MOVICE challenged the Government’s claims that extradition is an effective mechanism to remove benefits from those who fail to comply with the requirements of Law 975 and submitted a claim to halt the extradition process. The objective of the organisations that supported this claim was to ensure that once ‘Macaco’ lost his benefits under Law 975, he would be tried under the ordinary justice system. The petitioners argued that the extradition of ‘Macaco’ could violate the right to truth, justice and reparation of the thousands of people in Colombia who were victims of atrocities committed under his command. With ‘Macaco’ on trial in the United States, the victims fear that he will only be judged for drug-trafficking crimes, thereby leading to impunity for the crimes against humanity he committed in Colombia.

The Government nonetheless appealed against the decision in favour of the claim and on 6 May the Superior Judicial Council overturned the sentence which had halted the extradition. The magistrates decided that sending ‘Macaco’ to the United States did not place the rights of victims under any risk, as both the aggressor and the State are under legal obligation to respond for these rights. As soon as this decisión was made public, ‘Macaco’ was put on a flight to the United States.

In the midst of the national debate on the propriety of the extradition process, the Colombian Government surprised the country once again when, just one week after ‘Macaco’ departed, it decided to extradite a further 13 former paramilitary leaders to the United States. Using the same arguments as in the Macaco case, the Government assured the country that those who had been extradited would have to answer for all their crimes from the United States, and that in this way the rights of the victims to truth, justice and reparation would be guaranteed. Several members of MOVICE have expressed their concern over the extradition of ‘Macaco’, as they consider that it hampers the possibility for victims´ families in Colombia to find out the truth about the whereabouts of relatives killed or disappeared at the hands of paramilitary groups. Now that a further 13 paramilitaries have been extradited, a number of voices have raised concerns that the government’s decision «is an attempt to impede the identification of their political, military and economic accomplices, some of whom are under investigation by the Supreme Court of Justice». ²

1. web.presidencia.gov.co/sp/2008/abril/12/04122008.html
2. “Uribe extraditó a ex paras para salvar a salpicados por parapolítica, dice la oposición”, El Universal, 13 May 2008, www.eluniversal.com.co/noticias/20080513/ctg_act_uribe_extradito_a_ex_paras_para_salvar_a.html