ERNESTO CARDOSO CAMACHO
Among the various events that frequently occur in national life, it is necessary to prioritize those that have the greatest relevance and significance, in order to contribute, as is the duty of the columnist, to seek the explanations and motivations of those who determine such events, always respecting the criteria of its readers and with the greatest objectivity, free from the manipulation of the reader.
In this context it is inevitable to refer to the return of Mr. Salvatore Mancuso, who served in the recent past as one of the most prominent leaders of paramilitarism, during the unfortunate years of the armed conflict between the FARC and the paramilitaries, which caused millions of victims and enormous war crimes considered by IHL as crimes against humanity, imprescriptible and eventually subject to the jurisdiction and competence of the International Criminal Court.
The first thing is to remember that his return from the United States, where he was convicted of drug trafficking and was imprisoned for 15 years in a maximum security prison establishment, on the occasion of the extradition ordered by former President Uribe in the company of other famous protagonists who, however, Having taken advantage of the Justice and Peace criminal system, derived from the Ralito agreements, they continued to commit crimes from their places of confinement in Colombia.
The significance of his return is related to two significant events. The first, who must respond before the ordinary criminal justice system, before the Justice and Peace system still in force, for numerous processes where he has already been convicted and for others still pending conviction or acquittal; Furthermore, before the JEP, an organization derived from the Santos Peace Agreement with the FARC, where he was already admitted at his request as a “hinge” between the Military Forces and paramilitarism, responsible for numerous criminal acts that constitute crimes against humanity. The second, for having been designated and accepted as Peace Manager, in the “total peace” policy designed by President Petro, adopted by Congress through Law 2272/22, which was declared constitutional by the Court, with some restrictions.
In this regard, it is worth mentioning that this legal norm has a precedent in Law 418/97 that established, in development of the constitutional mandate, the legislative initiative of the president to implement policies that lead to guaranteeing the conservation of public order, for which, he can advance negotiations. with high-impact criminal structures for their demobilization and submission to justice.
Well then. Concreting the analysis regarding the return of Mr. Mancuso in this clear legal context, it is also essential to mention the possible or very certain political consequences that such an event will generate in the current national situation, characterized by the acute polarization, resulting from the actions of the Petro government, aimed at syndicating the “extreme right” as the main person responsible for the armed conflict and the social inequalities accumulated during its monopoly in the exercise of power.
Many citizens still do not understand how it is possible that criminals of one conception or another, characterized as protagonists of the armed conflict, can be considered effective peace managers. To do this, it is worth remembering that despite such a respectable conceptual and political position, the legal mechanism has been used in other governments, as occurred in that of former President Uribe.
The Mancuso affair has special ideological, political and social connotations; given his outstanding military leadership in the paramilitary forces, due to the versions that he has provided in the hearings held before the JEP in which; According to press reports, he has named political figures, businessmen and companies that contributed to the financing of his criminal activities.
On the other hand, the current situation in which President Petro intends to consolidate his total peace project, when nearly 400 signatories of the Havana process have been murdered; The ELN takes one step forward and two steps back in the dialogues it holds with the government; the Clan del Golfo and other important outlaw groups that are a legacy of paramilitarism; the numerous criminal gangs existing in much of the national territory; where common crime has plagued citizens and State forces are powerless to neutralize the criminal barrage that overwhelms Colombians; but above all with the common denominator of drug trafficking and illegal mining as financiers; Such a situation has meant that many Colombians, even those who support the government in its other policies, quite rightly consider that said total peace is a chimera or a utopia that only President Petro insists on.
In conclusion, given the previous reflections, Mancuso’s return to be “Peace Manager” will depend on him being able to obtain his freedom through the suspension of his current sentences and his processes still in progress; decision that must be made by the Judge of Execution of Sentences in accordance with the provisions of the Constitutional Court.
On the other hand, it is evident that, with this clever move, President Petro seeks to improve his image before the citizens, while attempting to further erode that of former President Uribe; advance in obtaining support in the government and independent groups in Congress to consolidate majorities that approve their ongoing reforms; and deepen the ideological and political confrontation, in order to hide his own incompetence and that of his entire government team.
President Petro does not govern, he confronts and divides. And in this clear circumstance, the numerous acts of corruption that are becoming known weaken him even more in the eyes of national and international opinion, a fact that could encourage him to increase his quarrelsome and anarchic style, a scenario in which all Colombians would lose.