France has requested the extradition of an ex-paramilitary leader for the murder of a Franco-Colombian in 2002, reports El Tiempo.
Jose Gregorio Mangonez, who’s alias is “Tijeras” (scissors) due to his reputation for carving up his victims, is held responsible for the killing of 21 year old Simon Gonzalez on May 20, 2002, in Cienaga, Magdalena.
The victim’s parents have brought the case to a court in Rennes, France, charging “Tijeras” with kidnapping, torture and murder.
According to investigations, Simon Gonzales was robbed in Bogota and he decided decided to walk to Cienaga, where he was kidnapped and taken in a van to Rio Frio before being shot three times. His body was found buried in a cemetery one month later.
Tijeras was captured in Barranquilla in 2005, after which it emerged that he was acting under the orders of Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, alias “Jorge 40,” the former leader of the Northern Bloc of the AUC.
In 2007, Tijeras admitted culpability and said that the murder was a case of “social cleansing.”
The family of Gonzalez are determined to ensure that his death does not go unpunished and the court in Rennes has already asked the Colombian public prosecutor for the evidence against the ex-paramilitary.
