Colombia’s Supreme Court has nullified the first conviction by a special
tribunal responsible for trials against demobilized members of
paramilitary organization AUC.
The paramilitary leader, Wilson ‘El Loro’ Salazar Carrascal, had been convicted to five years and ten months in jail for aggravated murder, fraud and extortion, but was not tried for conspiracy to commit a crime for being a member of a terrorist organization.
The tribunal was ordered to start the trial over again and include the conspiracy charge.
Members of the AUC who cooperate with justice are tried before special ‘Justice and Peace’ tribunals that give lower sentences to the paramilitaries than normal courts would. If not tried according to the special law, ‘El Loro’ could be sentenced to 40 years in jail.
The AUC is considered responsible for more than 20,000 murders.
