Álvaro Uribe Vélez is a Colombian politician who served as the 31st President of Colombia from 7 August 2002 to 7 August 2010. He has served as mayor of Medellín, Governor of Antioquia, Senator and President, besides being the leader of the mail políticalparty in government, the Centro Democratico.
The United Self-Defences of Colombia was a Colombian far right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the Colombian armed conflict during the period from 1997 to 2006. The AUC was responsible for retaliations against the FARC and ELN rebel groups as well as numerous attacks against civilians beginning in 1997 with the Mapiripán Massacre.
Carlos Castaño Gil was a Colombian paramilitary leader and drug trafficker who was a founder of the Peasant Self-Defenders of Córdoba and Urabá (ACCU), a far-right paramilitary organization in Colombia and a former member of the Medellin Cartel. Castaño and his brothers Fidel and Vicente founded the ACCU after their father was kidnapped and killed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in association with other enemies or victims of the guerrillas. The ACCU later became one of the founding members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).
Jaime Hernando Garzón Forero was a Colombian comedian, journalist, politician, and peace activist. He was popular on colombian television during the 1990s for his unique political satire. In addition to his work on television, he also had roles as a peace negotiator in the release of FARC guerrillas' hostages. He was murdered in 1999 by right-wing paramilitary hitmen, with suspected support from members of the Colombian military and security services, according to testimonies of former paramilitaries commanders. The case remains open and unsolved.
The Bojayá massacre was a massacre that occurred on May 2, 2002 in the town of Bellavista, Bojayá Municipality, Chocó Department, Colombia. Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas attacked the town in an attempt to take control of the Atrato River region from United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitaries. During the fighting, a cylinder bomb launched by the FARC with a mortar at the AUC paramilitaries positioned by the walls of a church, went through the roof of the church instead, landing on the altar inside. Of the approximately 300 inhabitants of the town who had taken refuge in the church, 119 died in the explosion..
Right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia are paramilitary groups acting in opposition to revolutionary Marxist-Leninist guerrilla forces and their allies among the civilian population. These paramilitary groups control a large majority of the illegal drug trade of cocaine and other substances. The remaining political murders are often committed by leftist guerrillas and government forces.
Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, was born in Valledupar, Colombia. He was the leader of the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. He demobilized with his two thousand men strong group on March 10, 2006 in La Mesa, Department of Cesar.
Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso","Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero", among other names is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in command of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group. The paramilitary groups commanded by Mancuso fought the guerrillas, and financed their activities by receiving donations from land owners, drug trafficking, extortions and robbery.
Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano also known as Don Berna or Adolfo Paz, is a former leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group, as well as the leader of The Office of Envigado cartel.
The Mapiripán massacre was a massacre of civilians that took place in Mapiripán, Meta Department, Colombia. The massacre was carried out from July 15 to July 20, 1997, by the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), an outlawed right-wing paramilitary group.
Villanueva is a town and municipality located in the northern Department of La Guajira, Colombia. Villanueva is known in Colombia for being the cradle of many vallenato singers and composers. The economy of the town relies heavily on agriculture and farming.
The Colombian parapolitics scandal or "parapolítica" in Spanish refers to the 2006–present Colombian congressional scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians have been indicted for colluding with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a paramilitary group which is responsible for killing thousands of Colombian civilians.
Ramiro Suárez Corzo is a Colombian politician. Former Mayor of the Colombian city of Cúcuta, Norte de Santander and actually is a convicted Murderer.
Black Eagles is a term describing a series of Colombian drug trafficking, right-wing, counter-revolutionary, paramilitary organizations made up of new and preexisting paramilitary forces, who emerged from the failures of the demobilization process between 2004 and 2006, which aimed to disarm the United Self-Defense Units of Colombia (AUC).
Iván Roberto Duque Gaviria aka Ernesto Báez was a Colombian paramilitary leader and onetime member of the demobilized United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). Duque-Gaviria graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad de Caldas.
José Miguel Arroyave Ruiz aka "Arcángel" or also "the Chemist" was one of the top paramilitary leaders and commander of the Centaurs bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a 5,000-strong private militia active in the sparsely populated grasslands of eastern Colombia. He was also a powerful figure within the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), an umbrella organization bringing together right-wing paramilitary groups from all over the country. He was well known for being a ruthless fighter against guerrilla groups, and for being able to evict these rebel groups and take control of their territories. The Centaurs bloc was one of the largest and most powerful groups within the AUC, and was very well organized, to the point that they even had a running web page that is no longer in service (www.bloquecentauros.org).
The Bahía Portete massacre was a massacre in the Colombian town of Bahía Portete, in the Department of La Guajira on April 16, 2004. It was perpetrated by paramilitary groups of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) Wayuu Counter-Insurgency Bloc led by alias "Jorge 40" killing 12 people and the disappearance of one. Some 600 people were displaced against their will and took refuge in neighboring Venezuela.
Carlos Mario Jiménez Naranjo aka "Macaco" is a Colombian former drug lord and paramilitary leader. Jimenez was a member of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC) paramilitary group which demobilized between 2005 and 2007. Jimenez ordered the assassination of numerous people in the region of the Santander and North Santander specially in the city of Barrancabermeja where his organization confronted and defeated the National Liberation Army (ELN) for the control of the territory. Jimenez was the commander in chief of the Central Bolívar Bloc of the AUC.
Daniel Rendón Herrera is a Colombian drug lord. He was captured on 15 April 2009 while hiding in a jungle.
The Clan del Golfo, self-referred to as Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, and formerly called Los Urabeños and Clan Úsuga, is a Colombian drug cartel and right-wing neo-paramilitary group involved in the Colombian armed conflict. It is considered one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Colombia, having some 3,000 members in the inner circle of the organization in 2016. Their main source of income is drug trafficking. In late 2011 Los Urabeños declared war on Los Rastrojos over the control of the drug trade in Medellín. Los Urabeños is one of the organizations that appeared after the demobilization of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia.
