Latin American Herald Tribune

Colombian Police Arrest Ex-Militiaman Linked to Massacre

Aug 26--A former militiaman accused of participating in the 1995 massacre of seven peasants was arrested by police in a rural area near Remedios, a town in the northwestern province of Antioquia, officials said.

26 de agosto de 2009

Jesus Albeiro Guisao, who demobilized while a member of the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, was a key player in the criminal organization of militia chief Evert Veloza, who was extradited to the United States earlier this year.

Guisao faces murder, torture and other charges, the human rights unit of the Attorney General’s Office said.

The former militiaman is accused of taking part in the Sept. 14, 1995, massacre of seven peasants in Antioquia’s Uraba region.

The suspect will be taken to Medellin, the capital of Antioquia, where a prosecutor will advise him of the charges he faces.

Guisao belonged to one of the criminal groups led by Veloza, who confessed in the United States to being involved in some 3,000 drug-related crimes.

Veloza demobilized in 2004, but he later took up arms again.
 
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