Colombian paramilitary warlord wanted in US freed from jail
Colombian paramilitary warlord wanted in US freed from jail
By LIBARDO CARDONA, Associated Press | May 22, 2015 | Updated: May 22, 2015 7:44pm
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — A prominent paramilitary warlord wanted in the U.S. on drug charges walked out of a Colombian jail Friday, becoming the first major paramilitary boss to earn freedom as part of a decade-old peace deal.
Rodrigo Perez-Alzate, better known by his alias Julian Bolivar, was among some 30,000 right-wing fighters who surrendered in 2006 in exchange for a government promise of reduced prison sentences.
He was released from a maximum security jail near Medellin after completing the maximum eight years stipulated in the peace framework law for former militia members who confess their war crimes to prosecutors and compensate victims.
The top leaders of his paramilitary group, the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia, were extradited to the U.S. in 2008. But Perez-Alzate and other lieutenants and sub-commanders were spared a U.S. jail cell and are in line to be freed in the coming months.
More:
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Colombian-paramilitary-warlord-wanted-in-US-freed-6282005.php
LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141102287
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