Colombian President Alvaro Uribe put his foot down and had arrest orders issued for the AUC terrorist leadership because of their refusal to adhere to the terms of their agreement to demobilize:
Acting on the orders of President Alvaro Uribe, police began the crackdown on the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, by arresting militia leaders Ramon Izasa, Javier Montanez and Julian Bolivar early Wednesday at the group's headquarters in the western city of Medellin, Carlos Restrepo, an AUC spokesman, told The Associated Press.
Arrests of other AUC leaders, including strongmen Salvatore Mancuso and Ernesto Baez, were taking place throughout the country, local media reported. [ed. note: Mancuso turned himself in]
Uribe, at a military ceremony in Bogota, said he ordered the arrests "so the peace process can go forward and gain credibility."
Uribe on Monday ordered AUC commanders to report immediately to detention centers to face questioning by investigators for their role in some of the worst atrocities in the South American nation's four-decade-old civil war.
He said that if they did not comply, they faced losing benefits, such as the suspension of extradition orders to the United States.
Interior Minister Sabas Pretelt said militia commanders rounded up would be taken to a detention center so they could start confessing their crimes and fulfill other commitments under the 2003 accord.
It's about time. The Peace and Justice Law was made much more fair to the AUC's victims and more just overall and much less favorable to the AUC leadership by a court ruling in May. Since then the AUC leadership has been mounting an offensive that seems to be alternating passive aggressive petulance with public whining. Enough was enough and credit to Uribe (who I've been tough on here) for taking action.
While we're discussing Colombia, I urge you to read Adam Isacson's report on his recent visit to Putumayo, the department in the south of Colombia close to the border with Ecuador. It's a dangerous area, FARC infested and it took a lot of courage to be a gringo visiting there. get home safe, Adam.
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