Salvatore Mancuso and the reasons why he returned to Colombia: he talked about Petro, the Castaños, the plan to assassinate Chávez and Jaime Garzón

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Salvatore Mancuso speaks from La Picota

Twenty-one days after being deported from the United States, a country where he had been for almost 16 years, former paramilitary chief Salvatore Mancuso broke his silence. And in his first interview upon his return to the country, the former member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) referred, among others, to the role of peace manager that the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, entrusted to him to perform as mediator.

First of all, Mancuso thanked the head of state for the invitation made to him on Monday, March 18, 2024, when he spoke from Montería (Córdoba) and announced his desire to receive in his office, in the Casa de Nariño, the man who He was part of the self-defense forces. Even though 20 years ago, when he visited Congress, still as a paramilitary commander, the current president disqualified his presence and described it as shameful.

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“It is an incontrovertible message of an image that is going to be sent to the country and the world. People who come from the paramilitaries and the guerrillas can sit at the president’s table. It is a strong message for the actors in the conflict, regardless of the differences that may exist. The path cannot continue to be violence,” said Mancuso, in an interview with RTVC Noticias.

Regarding the expectations that have been generated in his role as facilitator, which would be endorsed by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) if his freedom is determined, he must contribute, with his experience and knowledge of the armed conflict, to “all the paths that can lead us to peace.” Despite the fact that organizations such as the Clan del Golfo have expressed their rejection of being a companion to the process.

Although before that, he confessed that they had Petro in their sights and looked for a way to end his existence, in a confession that generated all kinds of comments. And that he would confirm the suspicions that the ruler had at that time, when he was a congressman, about the actions of the paramilitaries. “At the time we planned to make an attempt on the life of President Gustavo Petro.”

Salvatore Mancuso on July 28, 2004, when he visited the Congress of the Republic – credit Rafa Salafranca/EFE

For the former paramilitary chief, the opportunity to be part of this new stage, at 59 years old, and after serving a sentence for drug trafficking in United States prisons, represents an option for redemption. At the same time, he reaffirmed that after this stage, the Salvatore Mancuso who returned to the national territory is a “transformed person”, without hard feelings and with the intention of helping reconciliation.

“My life has been immersed in the violent contrasts of war. Peace means for me the opportunity for redemption and a path towards what was destroyed, towards the souls of Colombians. Today’s Mancuso is a person transformed by the experience of the land and involved. “I am an actor of change, not of revenge, that progress and equal opportunities are possible,” he said in this dialogue.

Likewise, he reiterated that his desire is to recover the time lost immersed in the armed conflict and compensate, in some way, for the damage he caused with his actions. Therefore, he will be “critical of any expression that has to do with violence,” and stressed that he refused to go to Italy, taking into account his dual nationality, when it was spoken in 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. 19, of this alternative.

“I believe in Total Peace and I come to the country to show my face to the victims and I came to keep my promise,” said Mancuso. And he highlighted the example of Petro as a conflict actor who renounced violence. “He knows the depths and implications of it, and those of us who helped build the phenomena of war had a permanent link with the institutions of the State,” he added.

And directly to the president, for the determination to give him the status of manager, he said: “Thank you to President Petro for his trust, for believing that it is possible to live in a better, reconciled country, with Total Peace. For believing in me in this case, and the self-defense commanders, who will be part of the technical table, are going to be an important support.”

Mancuso returned to the country on February 27, from the United States – credit Migración Colombia

In the dialogue with the public news program, the former member of the self-defense groups said that his role is to “dismantle those cycles of violence” that have arisen in the country after the demobilization of the AUC. And, with this, close what has been called the peace agreement of Ralito (Córdoba), negotiated with the government of Álvaro Uribe, in 2004, which led them to lay down their arms, although with flaws in implementation.

“Today the conditions are in place to help you close the Ralito negotiations. The message is clear: the State’s word is kept,” said Mancuso, who denied that with his request to be released he is asking for a pardon or an amnesty, since he believes that he has more than paid for his crimes, since he stressed that he has not paid only eight years, as was the maximum sentence in Justice and Peace, but a total of 18.

In turn, the former paramilitary questioned the decision made by Judge Carlos Andrés Pérez, of the Barranquilla court of that transitional justice, in the sense of rejecting the request to grant him the benefit. “There is a bias in the administration of justice because I am called Salvatore Mancuso,” said the man who starred in one of the most painful eras of the armed conflict.

He also emphasized how, after the disappearance of the self-defense groups, new armed groups emerged that replaced the old structure, such as the Águilas Negras, Los Rastrojos, the Clan del Golfo and the Self-Defense Forces of the Sierra, among others, which were They took over the territories. It shows that “peace processes are failing and it requires people who have been on the inside,” he said.

And he acknowledged that he is aware of the reasons that led them to continue committing crimes. “These boys are rearmed as a result of several situations, including failure to comply with the State’s word. There is legal insecurity, and they distrust the word of the State and justice,” stated the confessed criminal, who in his statement also referred to the role of the then peace commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo.

He is convinced that the country is prepared to receive him, since he emphasized that he paid for his crimes, more than double the maximum time, and has, according to him, complied with the victims. “I have extensive experience in non-rebel groups. And through it I can contribute a bit of sand to build a path towards lasting peace,” Mancuso stressed.

Salvatore Mancuso spoke, as he did before the JEP, about the taxes they charged the private sector for their armed struggle – credit Special Justice for Peace

In the extensive dialogue, Salvatore Mancuso spoke about the role of some media and economic conglomerates. And, just as he had said in the only true hearings, during the JEP, when he accused nationally recognized companies, he spoke of the economic contributions they gave to the armed cause, even if they were conditioned by fear of reprisals.

“We all had responsibility in the armed conflict, the media or the economic unions do not escape from that, they had to pay war taxes to the guerrillas and the self-defense groups. But at a certain point, we became a lifeline,” said the man born in Montería (Córdoba) and that before his foray into a life of crime he worked as a prosperous rancher.

In this chronological thread of the actions of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, Mancuso spoke of the time when this illegal armed group was tasked with the assassination of the Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez Frías, an objective that was not carried out, for reasons unknown. He delved into his surprising statement. Just as he didn’t do it with his family either, because when he was going to speak his voice faltered.

“They asked us to participate in a coup d’état and in the assassination of President Chávez. “That is one of the truths told before the JEP and that will have to be told to the country, to Venezuela, to the world,” revealed the former paramilitary, in an interview in which he referred to Jobanis de Jesús Ávila Villadiego, alias Chiquito Malo, today maximum leader of the Gulf Clan, of which he has memories from his beginnings in the organization.

He also told what his participation in the Convivir was like: “They were a platform for the implementation of the AUC at the national level. They served as a hinge between illegality and institutionality. Being director of a Convivir, with 15 men and machine guns and mortars and grenade launchers. And I surrounded myself with businessmen, ranchers and I taught them how to confront the guerrillas, institutionally and legally.”

The former paramilitary chief spoke of the death of Carlos Castaño, ordered by his brother Vicente – credit Colprensa

In the case of the older brother of the Castaño clan, who played a key role in the AUC, Mancuso pointed to former commissioner Restrepo, as the man who would be behind the murder of Vicente, which would put an end to the information that says that He would still be alive, since his death has not been confirmed by the State; an accusation that generated a stir on social networks.

“They murdered Vicente Castaño, and the person behind that death as the instigator was Luis Carlos Restrepo,” revealed Mancuso, imprisoned in La Picota prison in Bogotá, from where he answered the call from the public channel, and in which he revealed some brokenness. of health, since he was heard with a constant cough in this meeting with the media after more than three decades without speaking.

For his part, in the case of Carlos, he confirmed that it was his own brother who ordered his murder, alleging the psychotic state in which the paramilitary leader would be, caused by his daughter’s delicate state of health. Just as he revealed that he consumed drugs, which would have affected his condition, in a spiral of brutality that led him to be massacred with his own blood, as he was considered a danger to the structure.

“His daughter’s health upset him. He had moments of crisis and existential anguish, he felt powerless in the self-defense groups, it was more symbolic (…) Vicente Castaño had military power and Carlos had political power. “He lived in a state of permanent paranoia that led him to make an attempt on the life of Vicente Castaño and he made the decision to murder him,” Mancuso confessed in the interview, which lasted more than an hour.

Thus, he also indicated the moment in which he met with a group of congressmen and the intention to “refound the homeland,” and the shortcomings at the social level that continue to be recorded in the territories after 25 years. And how the AUC took over 35% of the Congress of the Republic. “The self-defense groups became a de facto government,” the former paramilitary leader stated without blushing.

Jaime Garzón was murdered on August 13, 1999, by order of the paramilitaries – credit Infobae

Finally, in one of the most anticipated sections of the interview, Mancuso was concise but lapidary with his revelation. When he was asked about the murder of comedian Jaime Garzón, perpetrated on August 13, 1999 in Bogotá, and about the relationship of State organizations in this bitter event, he responded that it was not only a crime of José Miguel Narváez: considered one of the main ideologues of paramilitarism.

“Unfortunately, we, as self-defense groups, had responsibility for those events. “It is a painful event that still overwhelms us with pain and mourning (…) it was a State crime,” said Mancuso, who acknowledged that they were the material authors of an event that, almost 25 years after it happened, generates pain among the citizens, who were left with the memory of a man who risked everything for the peace of Colombia.