The government lacked the infrastructure to verify who the demobilized paramilitaries were and whether they had turned in all their weapons. By 1994, the Castaño brothers controlled the ACCU, a vigilante group that was formed from local watch groups defending their lands against leftist guerrillas. CONTACT INFO. The most extensive database on organized crime in the Americas. The Castaño brothers are considered the founders of Colombia’s paramilitary movement, but each of the regional groups that comprised the AUC also had its own leadership. For many Colombians, the peace process and the AUC’s demobilization did not improve their situation. The alliance with these powerful economic interests gave paramilitary groups access to weapons, cars and communications equipment, but it distorted their original purpose. Jorge 40 led the Northern Bloc of the AUC in the late 90s and early 2000s. During this time, Carlos Castano began his ascent to maximum commander of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), the organization that united Colombia's right-wing groups. The organization was formed by vigilante anti-guerrilla groups and defectors of Pablo Escobar‘s Medellin cartel, leaving a trail of death and terror in its wake with its estimated 30,000 fighters. The AUC fought against the FARC for control of areas that were strategic in the drug trade, and targeted communities it believed to be loyal to the FARC, perpetrating massacres and other atrocities. However, in alleged violation of the law of Justice and Peace, several AUC leaders were extradited to the U.S. on drug trafficking and money laundering charges following their demobilization. Between 2003 and 2006, the AUC and the Colombian government hammered out a peace agreement, and numerous paramilitary fronts demobilized. The Castaño brothers founded a vigilante, self defense movement, las Tangas, to attack leftist guerrillas in 1982 and, after several transformations, their group became the AUC in 1997, a consolidation of many self-defense groups that used tactics such as kidnappings and assassinations. The result was near-inevitable conflict between the two remaining super-structures as the paramilitaries fought the guerrillas for control of the means of production of the drug crops, entering by force — often with the support and assistance of the Colombian army — and carrying out selective assassinations and massacres that generated massive displacement and widespread terror. These groups began operating under new names even before the demobilizations officially ended in 2006. The AUC, or officially the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, was a paramilitary organization that operated from 1997 to 2006. Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), also known as United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, United Self-Defense Group, Units of Colombia, Power Rangers, Head Cutters, Paramilitaries 'paras' is an active group formed c. 1997. In case the applicant has completed less than 60 credit hours with a minimum grade of "C" or above, the admission evaluation will be based on the secondary school certificate which should meet the AUC minimum requirements for admission consideration. But in 1989, the brothers — together with former EPL guerrilla “Don Berna” — deserted the cartel to form “Los Pepes,” a feared vigilante group whose purpose was to bring down the Medellin cartel and kill Escobar with help from sectors of Colombia’s security forces. The AUC was labelled a terrorist organization by several members of the international community including the United States and the European Union in 2001, after which the group agreed to demobilize. The scandal became a prominent aspect in Colombian politics, with politicians at all levels of government being accused of using paramilitary backing for political support and benefits. One story is that he died fighting the Popular Liberation Army (Ejercito Popular de Liberacion – EPL). All Rights Reserved. The AUC is a right-wing, paramilitary organization in Colombia, that was active from 1997 to 2006. Click here to send InSight Crime your comments. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), National Liberation Army (ELN), Urabeños, Rastrojos, Popular Revolutionary Anti-Terrorist Army of Colombia (ERPAC), Paisas, Oficina de Envigado. AUC members infiltrated the state and political parties, which has led to a series of investigations — in which prominent legislators have been charged — that have revealed what is known as the “parapolitics” scandal. The AUC was officially formed in April 1997 under the leadership of three brothers of the Castaño family: Fidel, Carlos and Vicente, who had been leading death squads since the 1980s. These groups are now dedicated to drug trafficking and organized crime, as well as attacks on civilians, especially activists and community leaders. Unported License.See Privacy Policy, Investigation and Analysis of Organized Crime, Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial 3.0, considered the founders of Colombia’s paramilitary movement, The Ghost Loses Drug Trafficking Partners. Creative Commons Attribution - Noncommercial 3.0 The AUC mutually benefited from extensive ties to the Colombian lawmakers and public officials, commonly known as “parapolitics.” The parapolitics scandal broke in 2006, resulting in the conviction of dozens of congressmen and hundreds of public officials with proven ties to AUC. Yet the US funds kept rolling in, allowing the AUC and NV to take control of an even larger share of the cocaine industry. At the height of its power, the AUC operated in two-thirds of Colombia, with a particularly strong presence in the Caribbean Coast region, especially in Uraba, a region located in northwestern Colombia near the Panamanian border. What are your thoughts? When Escobar killed two of their close associates, Fidel Castaño and his brothers, Carlos and Vicente, teamed with Diego Murillo, alias “Don Berna,” to form a group called People Persecuted by Pablo Escobar (Perseguidos por Pablo Escobar – PEPES). In 1998, the powerful Cali Cartel was dismantled, paving the way for the AUC to become one of the most powerful, armed non-state entities in Colombia, rivaled by only the FARC. The Castaño brothers’ ACCU, or Peasant Defense Forces of Cordoba and Uraba were unofficially known as the “Tangueros.” It was in this period that the group cultivated the brutal reputation that the AUC would ultimately become known for, reportedly committing massacres and torturing civilians in the area where the Castaños owned their Las Tangas ranch. The oldest brother Fidel, has not been seen since 1994 and his supposed assassination that year by the FARC has not been confirmed. The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia - AUC) was a coalition of right-wing death squads that used the conflict to camouflage their illicit economic activities. The new groups — now referred to as “criminal bands” or BACRIMs, for the Spanish acronym — include the Urabeños, the Rastrojos, ERPAC, the Paisas, the Machos, Aguilas Negras, and Renacer, among others. The AUC demobilised 14 years ago in a deal with the Colombian government, but Jorge 40 was excluded from a wider deal that limited punishments for its former fighters and commanders. The official formation followed a two-year territorial offensive during which later AUC member groups pushed their way from the northwest of the country to regions crucial to the Colombian economy and drug trafficking on the eastern plains. Vicente’s alleged motive was that Carlos was becoming critical of the organization’s dependence on the lucrative drug trade. The Castaño brothers Fidel, Carlos and Vicente were the founding fathers of Colombia’s paramilitary movement, Criminal Activities Vicente was supposedly killed in 2007 however his death, like Fidel’s, has never been confirmed. Leadership The AUC mutually benefited from extensive ties to the Colombian lawmakers and public officials, commonly known as “parapolitics.”. We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, provided that it is attributed to InSight Crime in the byline, with a link to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. While more than 30,000 paramilitaries demobilized, many remained at large or abandoned the process and have since been implicated in grave human rights violations, drug trafficking, extortion, kidnappings and many other criminal acts. These included drug trafficking, displacement, kidnapping, and extortion. Both deaths of Carlos and Vicente are also shrouded in mystery and have even been connected to former president Alvaro Uribe who was accused by former AUC commander “El Aleman” for their murders. The AUC formed in 1997 as an umbrella group to organize illegal paramilitary groups. But soon the “self-defense” groups were protecting drug stashes and cargoes rather than civilians. They used Carlos as their intermediary with the police, who worked closely with the paramilitary group to gun Escobar down in December 1993. The founders of the AUC, Fidel, Vicente and Carlos Castaño have all either mysteriously disappeared or been killed. These paramilitary groups were able to establish local fiefdoms in the main areas of guerrilla influence and drive out the rural population that they accused of collaborating with the rebels. The second generation of paramilitaries came from the PEPES. Another is that Carlos killed him in a family dispute. MAS expanded exponentially in these rural areas. This illegal group assassinated not just the kidnappers, but also any supposed member of the rebels’ infrastructure, which included many innocent civilians, activists, union leaders and politicians. The applicant's GPA should not be less than 2.0 for admission consideration. Sensing a showdown and already facing a series of indictments in the US for drug trafficking, the paramilitaries sought a way out by negotiating a peace deal with the Colombian government. Uribe surprisingly decided to extradite the AUC leadership to the United States in May 2008, at the height of the parapolitics scandal that by then had begun incriminating the president’s own family, some of his closest allies and even himself. The parapolitics scandal broke in 2006, resulting in the conviction of dozens of congressmen and hundreds of public officials with proven ties to AUC. These neo-paramilitary groups work similarly to the AUC once did, carrying out frequent political killings while making most their money with drug trafficking. Indeed, the rise of the drug traffickers’ economic power would change the face of the conflict. Though in November 2015 it was reported that AGC was to be included in the FARC peace deal, they declined to participate. t 20.2.2615.1000 Intimidation and terrorist tactics were the AUC’s main strategies of crusading against left wing insurgents, committing multiple massacres of peasants throughout the country as well as individual assassinations, especially of left-wing political supporters mainly from the communist Patriotic Union political party. The United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, AUC, was a right wing umbrella paramilitary organization in Colombia active from April 1997 to 2006. These fledgling paramilitary groups, known as CONVIVIR, a Spanish acronym for “Special Vigilance and Private Security Services,” were initially supported by the government in an attempt to curb FARC and ELN guerrilla power in high risk areas of Colombia. The group is believed to have had operations in approximately 2/3rds of Colombia. Between 2003 and 2006, the AUC and the Colombian government hammered out a peace agreement, and numerous paramilitary fronts demobilized. The investigation into the alleged complicity of former President Alvaro Uribe in three massacres and a homicide is increasing suspicion that Colombia’s banks were sponsoring terrorism.. W Radio released a testimony of Jesus Maria Valle, a human rights defender who was assassinated in early 1998 by AUC paramilitaries with the alleged complicity of Uribe. In this 2005 photo, AUC fighters lay down their arms in Rusia Ocho in north-western Colombia. According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, more than 11,000 politicians, officials and businessmen are suspected of having made pacts with the AUC during its existence. While serving in Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel, the Castaños received military training by Israeli mercenary Yair Klein. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article. Following the destruction of the Medellin Cartel and the subsequent dissolution of the Cali Cartel, the market became segmented, giving rise to about 500 small micro-trafficking groups. AUC Avenue, P.O. AUC operations were 70% funded through cocaine-related earnings, according to AUC founder Carlos Castaño, who by the end of his life was raking in millions of dollars through the drug business. Autodefensas Gaitanistas (AGC) is a neo paramilitary and drug trafficking group that has been a long-time rival of both Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional (ELN) in Colombia. The AUC was known for its extensive drug trafficking as well as abundant human rights crimes. The remnants of this group formed the Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Cordoba and Uraba (Autodefensas de Cordoba y Uraba – ACCU). Fidel mysteriously disappeared shortly thereafter. The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, known by their Spanish acronym AUC, were declared a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. in 2001. Leftist guerrillas from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) also began exerting more territorial control over areas where drug crops were harvested and drugs were produced. Victims were most upset as they wanted the AUC leaders to respond before Colombian justice for the tens of thousands of human rights violations instead of drug trafficking. The criminalization of these groups coincided with a larger battle over extradition fought by the Medellin Cartel and its leader Pablo Escobar against the government. Drug production, kidnapping, domestic drug sales, arms trafficking, money laundering, human trafficking, Principal Criminal Groups According to the Prosecu… AUC accepts transfers from accredited universities. Letter Links Colombian Ambassador to US with AUC Paramilitaries. The government lacked the infrastructure to verify who the demobilized paramilitaries were and whether they had turned in all their weapons. Drug trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, forced displacement, Criminal Activities The Supreme Court is investigating allegations Uribe pressured ex-paramilitaries into retracting statements linking him to their militias in a case that has divided the nation and brought tensions over Colombia’s peace process to the surface. In the 1980s, guerrilla groups, including Las Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia (FARC) and el Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), prompted the creation of many small self-defense units and paramilitary units. The hope was to organize these loosely affiliated groups against leftist guerillas groups like the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This fight eventually spread to other parts of his organization. The most notorious of Colombia’s paramilitaries, the AUC, was formed in 1997 as an umbrella organization to consolidate local paramilitary groups. The AUC has admitted that it used scorched-earth tactics and killed anyone “suspected” of being aligned with guerilla groups who happened to wander near Drummond’s facilities. Box 74 New Cairo 11835, Egypt. As part of the process, the law of Justice and Peace was ratified in order to provide procedural and judicial benefits, including a maximum prison sentence of eight years and exemption from extradition to the U.S., to AUC members in exchange for their demobilization and cooperation. In 1996, the ACCU created a loose federation of self-defense groups comprised of seven regional organizations known as the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). The origins of the paramilitaries go back to the early 1980s, when drug traffickers, facing a wave of kidnappings by leftist guerrilla groups, decided to create a death squad they called Death to Kidnappers (Muerte a Secuestradores – MAS). Drug trafficking organization Los Rastrojos, formed originally as an enforcer army of the Norte del Valle cartel from Cali, used the demobilization of the AUC to recruit demobilized fighters to strengthen their organization. The AUC—commonly referred to as the paramilitaries—is a loose umbrella organization formed in April 1997 to consolidate most local and regional self-defense groups each with the mission to protect economic interests and combat FARC and ELN insurgents locally. At the same time, the AUC counted on the support of military and political officials. In either case, the core of the paramilitary group that he and Don Berna had created remained. Investigation and Analysis of Organized Crime The paramilitaries’ legacy extends beyond security. The CONVIVIR groups attracted criticism due to their human rights abuses and were eventually outlawed, subsequently leading to the consolidation of the ACCU and the formation of the AUC umbrella group in 1997 as the remaining dominant CONVIVIR corollary and championed by the Castaños. The paramilitaries were funded by wealthy businessmen and landowners. Carlos was killed in 2004, his brother Vicente convicted of the murder in 2011 before ex-president Uribe was accused of culpability for Carlos’ death. Negotiations for the AUC to demobilize began under President Alvaro Uribe‘s presidency in 2003 and ended in 2006. Mancuso said later Uribe extradited the leadership “to shut us up” about the paramilitaries’ collusions with establishment politicians, the private sector and the military. Many of them were legally constituted. The demobilization process has been heavily criticized by human rights organizations and the U.N. High Commission for Human Rights, claiming that the AUC demobilization did not meet international justice standards for the victims of human rights violations. However, rather than protect civilians from the transgressions of the guerrillas, many of the groups simply worked for drug traffickers, at the behest of large landholders, or both. Although the AUC (Autodefensas Unidas De Colombia / United Self-Defense Units of Colombia) formed as an umbrella group of paramilitary organizations in the late 1990s, its … Despite friendly relations with the Colombian authorities, the AUC’s interests began to increasingly clash with Colombian business and political interests as the paramilitaries continued to wreak havoc throughout the country, forcing fierce condemnation by foreign states and eventually its terrorist status in the United States, which was increasingly investing funds in Colombia’s counter-insurgency and anti-drug trafficking efforts through Plan Colombia. The scandal became a prominent aspect in Colombian politics, with politicians at all levels of government being accused of using paramilitary backing for political support and benefits. Colombia: The situation and demobilization of right-wing paramilitary groups and, in particular, the United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, AUC); the reintegration of demobilized combatants, government measures, assistance offered, and the results observed to date (2006 - February 2008) Only a minority continued their cooperation with the Justice and Peace courts that were put in place to provide justice for the vicitims. Powerful members of the Medellin Cartel invested heavily in land and, using the paramilitary groups, sought to shield themselves from the guerrillas’ extortion and kidnapping attempts. The profits from their war spoils allowed the AUC to grow exponentially and create an army of more than 30,000 soldiers. Tens of thousands of cases of kidnappings, rape, massacres, extortion, drug trafficking and displacement, among other crimes, have been attributed to the AUC during its reign. While the process was able to chip away at the main factions of the AUC itself, the UN reports that approximately 150 paramilitary squads have formed since the initiation of demobilization, with many of its members claiming affiliation with the former organization. Following the death of Escobar in 1993, the Castaño brothers took over a number of the Medellin Cartel’s drug routes while Don Berna became the leader of the “Oficina de Envigado,” Escobar’s former enforcer army that had become Medellin’s dominant crime syndicate under the drug lord’s rule. The central command of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a recognized Colombian paramilitary army, announced that the Venezuela block will be created to “hunt the FARC narcoterrorists”, “as well as their protectors,” in reference (according to the Colombian oligarchy narrative) to the Nicolás Maduro government. These organizations also unleashed waves of violence against sectors of the population who were considered supporters of the guerrillas. Powered by Digitale Zaken and Parrolabs, even been connected to former president Alvaro Uribe, Colombia’s government rejects court order demanding COVID tests from incoming travelers, Colombia set to order first 10 million COVID vaccines: report, Colombia’s comptroller general holds politicians responsible for $1B dam debacle, Southwest Colombia indigenous leaders threatened after 4 dead in killing spree, Colombia’s military denies systematic support to paramilitaries, Duque claims Colombia’s opposition defending FARC dissidents. Thousands of civilians were killed, including state agents and politicians, leading the government to criminalize the paramilitary groups. Cattle ranchers, mining and petroleum companies, and international fruit company Chiquita, accused the Colombian government of failing to protect their interests from insurgents, namely rebel guerrilla groups the FARC and ELN. Later, “self-defense” groups emerged, some of them initiated by Colombian army officers and politicians who called for the population to organize in their own defense. The shortcomings of the process, however, were immediately apparent. Perhaps due to the controversial aspects of the demobilization process, the AUC was able to maintain a lingering presence in Colombia. Using the alias Jorge 40 he commanded the right-wing United Self-Defence Forces of Colombia (AUC). Mass killings of civilians were commonplace, openly aided by the Colombian military. Bacrim groups were formed by members of the right-wing paramilitary group United Self-defense Forces of Colombia, known as the AUC, who did not want to join the demobilization process led by the Álvaro Uribe government between 2003 and 2006. But the source of this profit, principally drugs, placed the group in the crosshairs of the United States government, which sought to break up what had become arguably the largest drug trafficking organization in the world. The AUC, a Spanish acronym for the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, was founded in 1997 as an umbrella group to unite the far-right militias across the country. These included drug trafficking, displacement, kidnapping, and extortion. Salvatore Mancuso, former head of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, arrives to court in Medellín, Colombia where he stands trial in a process seeking the demobilization of the country's paramilitary forces. “Los Urabeños” and ERPAC, which later split into the “Libertadores de Vichada” and the “Bloque Meta.”. During the late 1990s, the AUC waged a murderous offensive against "insurgents" in lucrative coca-producing areas of Colombia. Though partially financed by “sponsor donations” the AUC’s main income was through drug trafficking. The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC) was a coalition of right-wing death squads that used the conflict to camouflage their illicit economic activities. The Autodéfensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC) were active in the Northwest regions of Colombia including Antioquia, Cordoba, Sucre, Bolivar and the Panamanian border region. The shortcomings of the process, however, were immediately apparent. The AUC’s emergence coincided with a shift in the drug trafficking industry. Although the AUC formally demobilized in 2006 its dissolution marked the emergence of successor groups formed by mid-level commanders of the paramilitary organization who were exempted from justice or never took part in the demobilization process. These commanders formed AUC successor groups like the “Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia” a.k.a. Some paramilitary groups deliberately duped the government, handing in old and poorly maintained weapons and conscripting civilians to pose as paramilitary soldiers. The AUC once operated in two-thirds of the country with approximately 30,000 soldiers. The tradition of corruption continues to undermine and demoralize the Colombian government, and remains an integral factor in the ongoing violence in the country. 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