Latin American Herald Tribune

Colombian Militia Boss: We Burned Hundreds of Bodies

Apr 30 -- The erstwhile commander of Colombia’s right-wing militias said that his men systematically burned hundreds of their victims at the behest of officials and military brass who sought to downplay the level of violence in the Andean nation.

30 de abril de 2009

Salvatore Mancuso, extradited to the United States a year ago to face drug charges, made the admission while testifying via videolink from Washington.

A portion of the session, which featured the former head of the AUC militia federation answering questions submitted by families of the paramilitaries’ victims, was aired in Colombia on RCN television.

Mancuso said the burning of the bodies “was a favor that (now-deceased AUC founder) Carlos Castaño was doing for the authorities.”
 
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