Paramilitary Ties Implicate Colombia's Political Elite
By Juan Forero
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, December 19, 2006; Page A01
~snip~
A defector from one group, in the southern state of Meta, said in an interview that earlier this year he was recruited by a new paramilitary group run by Carlos Jimenez. The defector, Arley Rincón Herrera, 26, said the new group's purpose was to protect shipments of cocaine, cash and chemicals used to make drugs.
"They didn't teach us anything political, since it was narco-trafficking that they were interested in," said Rincón, who is in hiding in Bogota. "We had to guard the merchandise. If a car came down with merchandise, we protected it."
Meta's paramilitary forces demobilized under government auspices. But far from being freed of fighters, the state is afflicted by new groups that are snatching farms and killing rivals.
A local cattleman who spoke on condition of anonymity said these fighters demand the sale of farms at bargain-basement prices and that people who resist are killed.
Ranchers used to be able to appease the paramilitary forces by giving them support.
But those days appear to be over, the cattleman said. "We all see now that the medicine was worse than the illness."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121801374.html