The United States stopped the extradition of the paramilitary Salvatore Mancuso to Italy and could be sent to Colombia

The Donald Trump government halted the extradition of former Colombian paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso to Italy and he now runs the risk of being sent to Colombia. Therefore, his defense asked that the United States “stop all immigration procedures.”

Mancuso – one of the top leaders of the demobilized group Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), who also has Italian nationality – is requested by Bogotá and human rights defenders demand his return to the South American country to clarify the multiple and atrocious crimes of the paramilitaries , to which it is linked.

The former paramilitary leader in the United States, he also served a sentence for drug trafficking. Once completed, he was placed in immigration detention and was to be expelled to Italy no later than September 4.

At a hearing on August 24, attorneys for the US government had set that date as the deadline for his deportation, but over the weekend his defense received a surprising notification in which they were informed that their transfer to Italy at this time is “harmful to the United States.”

“The notification was delivered without explanation, it did not cite any request from Colombia or an extradition order and also did not explain why the expulsion to Italy would be ‘detrimental’ for this country,” said the defense. The lawyers requested this Monday an immediate hearing and a “suspension of any immigration action”. Previously, his expulsion to Italy had been requested, since they affirm that he is “terrified” with the possibility of returning to Colombia.

According to information published by the newspaper ‘Time‘, the United States authorities would be inclined to deport Mancuso to Colombian territory, waiting for this decision to be made official in the next few hours.

However, those same sources consulted by the Colombian newspaper have not ruled out either that Mancuso, after having already served his sentence in the United States, remains in the country, where other figures of drug trafficking and paramilitary groups already reside, such as Juan Carlos Sierra. , aka ‘El Tuso’, who lives in Miami.

Bogotá requested on August 20 the extradition of Mancuso and then the Colombian president, Iván Duque, pointed out that the former paramilitary leader “has serious outstanding debts with the justice” of his country: he was sentenced in 2012 to 24 years in prison for the massacre than 19 people in 1998.

But given that the Justice and Peace demobilization law that was launched by the Álvaro Uribe government (2002-10) was submitted, he would only serve a maximum of eight years in prison.

Before being extradited to the United States, Mancuso collaborated with the judges, which is why organizations of victims and defenders of human rights demand his return to Colombia to clarify the multiple and heinous crimes of the paramilitaries.

A key theme of his testimony is the links of paramilitary groups with politicians and businessmen. But the defense noted that the change in their destination is “worrying” and raises many questions.

“It is inconceivable that the United States government decided that the petitioner’s transfer to Italy is harmful and that his deportation to Colombia is appropriate in a matter of hours,” the defense said.

After the Government of Colombia has made several formal errors in processing the extradition, the authorities are exhausting diplomatic channels before another decision is executed.

Mancuso’s defense now has the option to seek asylum in the United States and the notice stipulates that you have 14 days to express any “fear of persecution” in your destination country.

For the moment, his lawyers requested his transfer to Washington from the immigration prison where he is being held in the state of Georgia, a center located very close to the Atlanta International Airport.

According to the National Movement for State Victims, Movice, Mancuso was convicted of more than 1,500 crimes committed under his orders, but nearly 75,000 criminal acts associated with his command have yet to be punished.

(With information from AFP, EFE and Europa Press)

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