The former head of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, Mancuso has spent the last two years in federal prison in the United States, after being extradited on drug trafficking charges upon sepnding years in a maximum security prison in Antioquia.
The letter most prominently reveals the names of former president Avaro Uribe Velez as well as that of current ambassador to the United States, Francisco Santos, also Uribe's vicepresident from 2002-2010, who immediately refuted the claims.
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Responsible for thousands of assassinations and other crimes against humanity, Mancuso claims he was extradited to the United States in the first place as reprisal for revealing some of the figures that backed and funded the armed group.
After completing 12 of his 15 year sentence in March of this year, Mancuso awaits his release—having presented a case for asylym in the United States—yet he likely will be deported to Colombia, where he awaits the Colombian justice system and fears for his life, rather than to his preferred option of Italy, where he is also a citizen.
Expressing his willingness to present this and further information to Colombia's Truth Commission, Mancuso says that he wants Colombians to understand the extent of the collusion between national politicians and paramilitary forces.
Criticizing Colombia's peace and justice process for victims of the armed conflcit, the letter, made public by exminister Alvaro Leyva, affirms that there exists no political interest or will in revealing the truth, resulting in a further revictimization of affected communities by the same actors within the Colombian state apparatus who perpetrate the crimes and then pretend to deliver justice.