Series on the rights of the victims and the application of Law 975. Bulletin No 28

1. COMISIÓN COLOMBIANA DE JURISTAS
Organización no gubernamental con estatus consultivo ante la ONU
Filial de la Comisión Internacional de Juristas (Ginebra) y de la Comisión Andina de Juristas (Lima)
PERSONERÍA JURÍDICA: RESOLUCIÓN 1060, AGOSTO DE 1988 DE LA ALCALDÍA MAYOR DE BOGOTÁ
Bulletin No 28: Series on the rights of the victims and the application of Law 975
Justice in Colombia first, extradition later
Before being extradited, alias “HH” and the remaining paramilitaries should conclude
their processes before Colombian justice
The general rule in the “free-version” confession hearings carried out in the framework of
Law 975 of 2005 is that paramilitaries that are rendering their testimonies are not
contributing to shed light on the truth. Many of them are justifying their crimes, defending
the misdeeds they committed, denying their participation in the acts being investigated by
the Prosecutor’s Office, and they are not revealing the links between the paramilitary
structures and various sectors of society.
However, an exception to this rule is the paramilitary boss Éver Veloza García, alias “HH,”
who invoked Law 975 of 2005 and is offering free-version testimony since October 29,
2007. This paramilitary is probably the one who has contributed most to the truth about the
crimes committed by paramilitarism. However, notwithstanding the victims’ expectations
regarding the testimony that this paramilitary still has to render, as well as the work
awaiting the Prosecutor’s Office in the investigation of the crimes confessed by Éver
Veloza, a latent obstacle arises: the possible extradition of this paramilitary boss to the
United States in the coming days.
Indeed, this past May 7, the national Government set a precedent when it decided to
extradite the leader of the paramilitary block Bloque Central Bolívar, Carlos Mario Jiménez
Naranjo, alias “Macaco” and, one week later, on May 13, extradited 14 more candidates for
special treatment under Law 975 of 2005, among them several paramilitary bosses such as
Salvatore Mancuso, Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, alias “Jorge 40”, or Hernán Giraldo Serna, alias
“El Patrón.” In the specific case of Éver Veloza, alias “HH,” this implies that if the
Supreme Court decides to rule favorably for the extradition of this paramilitary, the
Government, coherent with its previous decisions, will extradite him to the United States
and exclude him from the possibility of being judged and punished by the Colombian
justice system.
The concession of extradition to any member of the paramilitary presently postulated under
Law 975 of 2005 is a source of concern since, through it, the rights of the victims are
thoroughly disregarded and the capacity of the Colombian judicial system to do justice is
ignored. However, this concern becomes more urgent when the request for extradition
Calle 72 Nº 12-65 piso 7 Tel: (571) 3768200 – (571) 3434710 Fax : (571) 3768230
Email : ccj@coljuristas.org Website: www.coljuristas.org Bogotá, Colombia

2. 2
hovers over a member of the paramilitaries who is in effect revealing important facts that
could eventually contribute to the right of the victims and society to the truth. 1.
Indeed, this paramilitary boss has made important revelations regarding the close links
between paramilitarism and the political, economic, and military sectors. Likewise, alias
“HH” has accepted responsibility for committing multiple crimes in the Urabá region and
in the Department of Valle del Cauca – areas that were under his command – and he has
admitted, as few of those who confessed have done, that the paramilitaries committed
crimes such as forced displacement, recruitment of boys and girls, forced disappearances,
and massacres.
In concrete terms, Éver Veloza García, alias “HH,” has mentioned General Rito Alejo del
Río as one of the promoters of paramilitarism in Urabá. In the same sense he referred to
Colonel Bayron Carvajal, about whom he stated that the Colonel not only promoted and
collaborated with paramilitarism but also that he threatened to kill him, alias “HH,” if he
continued to make accusations against him.
Likewise, this paramilitary leader asserted in his free-version testimonies that the
entrepreneurial banana-producing sector in Urabá made important financial contributions to
paramilitarism, and that the money was channeled through the so-called “Convivir”
associations. Regarding the “Convivir” organizations, Éver Veloza stated that they all were
part of the paramilitary groups or were at their service.2 He referred in particular to the
Convivir “Papagayo,” which had its headquarters behind the 12 th Army Brigade in the
municipality of Carepa (Antioquia) in the region of Urabá. Regarding this Convivir, alias
“HH” not only stated that it was the channel for the movement of funds from the banana
producing enterprises to the paramilitary, but also that its legal representative, Arnulfo
Peñuela – who until recently was mayor of the municipality of Carepa, until the
Prosecutor’s Office decided to open an investigation against him for his links with
paramilitarism – is not only a collaborator of paramilitarism but is part of the core of the
paramilitary structure.
Alias “HH” even asserted that it was Peñuela who introduced him to the members of the
Army’s 17th Brigade when he first arrived in the area. Also, he stated that he himself
suggested to Raúl Hazbún, another Urabá paramilitary boss, that Peñuela should take part
in the demobilization ceremony of the Banana Block, but that Vicente Castaño was against
Peñuela’s “demobilization” since Peñuela, in spite of being part of the paramilitary
structure, was legally protected because he was acting within the framework of the
“Convivir” organizations, which by then had been legalized.
1
In this same sense, see the article by Jimena Duzán, ¿Quién le teme a HH? (Who’s afraid of HH?), in
Semana Magazine, July12, 2008. Available at www.semana.com
2
See in this respect Colombian Commission of Jurists, series of bulletins on the Rights of the victims and the application of Law 975 of
2005, “Todas las convivir eran nuestras” (“All the Convivir were ours” ) Bulletin 27. See in www.coljuristas.org.

3. 3
In his free-version testimony, Éver Veloza also singled out other politicians as promoters or
beneficiaries of paramilitarism. One of his most revealing confessions refers to the
Governor of Cauca, Juan José Chaux. Regarding this politician, Éver Veloza declared that
Chaux had obtained the support of the Calima Block of the AUC to win the elections for
the governorship of Cauca and that, in addition, he had been present at a “paramilitary
summit meeting” in which recognized paramilitary leaders took part. Regarding
paramilitary intervention in the elections, Éver Veloza stated that they had sufficient
influence in the communities to force electors to vote for any given candidate: “(…) we
forced the communities to vote – not at the moment when the elections took place, it was
something that we worked on much earlier; but we had influence in the communities and
they had to agree with what we thought and what we said. They didn’t give us money, since
we had money coming in anyway, but they asked for votes.”3
Furthermore, Éver Veloza has perhaps been the only paramilitary boss who has recognized
and acknowledged that paramilitary groups committed various types of crimes as part of
their war strategy and as part of a policy within the paramilitary organization. Among such
crimes, alias “HH” acknowledged that forced disappearance of persons was a strategy that
the paramilitaries began using in Urabá and was later extended to the rest of the country.
Additionally, he declared that the practice of disappearing people had been the idea of
members of the State security forces, specifically of General Rito Alejo del Río, who had a
particular interest in lowering the registered number of deaths that had been occurring in
the Urabá region.
Éver Veloza also acknowledged in one of his testimonies that the paramilitary groups
militarily persecuted union members, and asserted that the crimes against such persons
were in certain cases due to the antagonism that the paramilitaries felt toward the ideas or
the political thought of the unionists. In another one of his declaration, Veloza stated that
the paramilitary groups that operate in Urabá persecuted the union of banana workers
(Sintrainagro) to such an extent, that the affiliates of the union “lost in one year all the
benefits for which they fought their whole lives.”4 For that reason, Éver Veloza did not
hesitate to affirm that those most favored by the conflict that took place in the Urabá region
were the entrepreneurs.
Something similar occurred with the members of the Unión Patriótica (UP) political party
who, according this paramilitary leader, were assassinated because of their political
tendencies and not for their alleged membership in the FARC guerrilla.
Likewise, alias “HH” has stated that it would be a lie to maintain that there was no forced
recruitment of boys and girls. According to him, the recruitment of children was a policy
that reached national level, since boys and girls were useful to them “because they could go
3
Free-version hearing of Éver Veloza García, alias “HH,” July 9, 10 and 11, 2008.
4
Ibíd.

4. 4
unnoticed and do intelligence work.”5 Besides, he added, it was impossible for the
commanders of paramilitary blocks or fronts not to have known that there were boys or
girls in their ranks, as some have insisted.
He referred in this same sense to the crime of forced displacement, remarking that the
displacement that thousands of persons were victims of as a result of paramilitary violence
was not an effect of the conflict, as other paramilitaries rendering testimony have tried to
present it, but rather that paramilitary groups generated displacements as part of their war
strategy.
Furthermore, Éver Veloza, alias “HH,” has provided information that is valuable for
shedding light on crimes about which, although he did not participate in them directly, he
did have some knowledge due to his close relationship with the Castaño brothers. Such is
the case of the declarations that he made about the assassination of the well-known political
humorist, Jaime Garzón, about whom alias “HH” said that he was executed by the gang
known as La Terraza by order of Carlos Castaño as a favor requested by the “high military
command.” This same closeness to the Castaño brothers allowed Éver Veloza, during his
most recent free-version declaration, to hand over a USB memory drive owned by Carlos
Castaño containing, according to Veloza himself, e-mails between Carlos Castaño and
other paramilitary bosses such as Salvatore Mancuso, Freddy Rendón Herrera, alias “el
Alemán” and Iván Roberto Duque, alias “Ernesto Báez.” Likewise, alias “HH” declared
that the UBS memory device contains Carlos Castaño’s testament and promised to hand
over to the authorities the personal computer of the paramilitary commander.
It is true that Éver Veloza, alias “HH,” has made valuable revelations that contribute to the
right to truth. However, the victims have many questions still to be answered, and there are
many crimes still to confess. It should not be forgotten that this paramilitary boss was the
commander of two paramilitary blocks (the Calima Block and the AUC Banana Block), and
that in one of his testimonies he confessed that he assassinated approximately 1,500 persons
in a single year in the Urabá region. The magnitude of the crimes committed by this
member of the paramilitary and by the blocks under his command is enormous, so it is to be
expected that he still has many more facts to confess and details to specify.
The National Government has already snatched away from the victims of the extradited
paramilitary bosses the possibility of having justice done in Colombia. The case of Éver
Veloza represents an opportunity for the Government to rectify its misguided decision to
extradite the paramilitaries who are now offering their free-version testimonies in the
“justice and peace” legal proceedings in Colombia. and to act in accordance with
international human rights law and the Colombian constitution, according to which priority
must be given to judging and sanctioning crimes against humanity over the judgment of the
crimes related to drug trafficking that this paramilitary boss might have committed.
5
Free-version hearing of Éver Veloza García, alias “HH,” May 26, 27 and 28, 2008.

5. 5
The Colombian Government and the Embassy of the United States have announced
publicly that they have signed an agreement so that the extradited members of the
paramilitary can continue to render free-version testimonies before the Colombian justice
system from the United States. However, the truth is that the free-version hearings of those
paramilitaries have been suspended since their extradition. It is unknown when they will be
resumed. Mario Iguarán, the Prosecutor General, told representatives of the victims –
among them the Colombian Commission of Jurists – that the U.S. Attorney General had let
him know that during the negotiations between the U.S. government and the paramilitaries
regarding advance sentences in relation to the crime of drug trafficking, the paramilitaries
would not be allowed to declare before the Colombian legal authorities. Such negotiations,
said the U.S. Attorney General to the Colombian Prosecutor General, can last
approximately a year. After those negotiations end, it seems improbable that the
paramilitaries will agree to continue giving testimony before Colombian justice because
this could worsen their situation with U.S. justice. Consequently, even if it were true that
the two governments signed a legal cooperation agreement for such cases (whose terms, by
the way, have not been revealed to the public), the efficacy of such an agreement is, to say
the least, unpromising and uncertain.
The request for the extradition of Éver Veloza is being processed by the Supreme Court,
and it would not be surprising that, if the Court rules favorably, the Government will
decide, as it did in other cases, to grant the extradition of this paramilitary leader to the
United States to be judged for drug trafficking, in detriment of the rights of the victims to
truth, justice, and reparation for the crimes he committed in Colombia.
This worrisome news has become known a few days before the paramilitary commander is
to testify once more before the Justice and Peace Unit of the Prosecutor’s Office. In this
free version hearing it is hoped that he will return goods for the reparation of the victims of
the Calima and Banana Blocks – if the government allows.
The Government should heed judicial rulings and respect the jurisprudence of the Supreme
Court regarding cases in which there is a request for the extradition of a person taking part
in the proceedings under Law 975. In that jurisprudence, the Supreme Court considered
that, although it can rule favorably on the extradition of a person being processed under
Law 975 of 2005, it must be understood that such a decision depends on the person
previously having complied with his/her obligations toward the victims and toward
Colombian justice. This was the Court’s position when referring to the favorable ruling it
issued in the case of the paramilitary leader Mario Jiménez Naranjo, alias “Macaco”:
“Indeed, in such cases as that which gave origin to the present debate, it is
necessary to weigh, let it be said again, the particular interest at stake of the before-
mentioned mechanism of international cooperation with respect to the objectives
that motivate the law of justice and peace, given that the characteristics of the
crimes committed by the illegal groups involving massacres, kidnappings, forced

6. 6
disappearances, tortures, forced displacement, among others, give prevalence to
international human rights law over said instrument of cooperation in the war
against delinquency.
From this perspective, it is understandable why the Court’s concept regarding the
requirements for extradition can rule positively and at the same time set conditions,
being aware that the person requested is at the same time a candidate for the
benefits of the law of justice and peace; since, given the greater harm done to
society by the illegal armed groups, their effective legal process as members of
those criminal organizations cannot be postponed, as their cooperation is required
in order to shed light on such activities, determine their perpetrators and
collaborators, find the victims or their remains, etc.” 6
Notwithstanding this jurisprudence, the Government decided to extradite 15 paramilitaries
to the United States. It is hoped that on this occasion, however, the ruling issued by the
Supreme Court regarding the request for the extradition of Éver Veloza García reiterates
the jurisprudence quoted above and is more assertive in warning the Government that it
must abstain from making effective the order of extradition of this paramilitary leader until
Colombian justice establishes his responsibility for the crimes against humanity committed
in Colombia; and that, in this sense, it must not try to silence the truth that for many years
the State and the paramilitary groups have owed the victims.
For more information, please contact Gustavo Gallón-Giraldo, Director of the CCJ, at Tel. (571) 376 8200, Ext. 115.
Bogotá, July 31, 2008
6
Supreme Court of Justice, second jurisdiccional level, n. °29559, Carlos Mario Jiménez Naranjo, M.P. Julio Enrique Socha Salamanca,
April 2008.