Former congressman called to trial for alleged paramilitary ties

Former congressman called to trial for alleged paramilitary ties
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 15:47 Jim Glade

Colombia's Supreme Court called a former congressman to trial for his alleged ties to paramilitaries, reports newspaper El Espectador.

The Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court Wednesday called the case of former congressman Jose Maria Conde for his alleged connections with "Bloque Heroes de Montes de Maria,." a sub-group of the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

The representative from the northern department of Sucre and member of the Colombia Democratica party was arrested June 8, 2010, in Bogota by agents of the Technical Investigations Office.

The warrant stemmed from testimony from the demobilized leader of the "Heroes de Montes de Maria" commander Tellez "Diego Vecino" Cobos, in which he stated that the congressman kept ties with his organization.

Another demobilized paramilitary leader Jairo Castillo Peralta alias "Pitirri" also testified that Conde made alliances with paramilitaries in Sucre seeking political gains.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/13820-former-congressman-called-to-trial-for-alleged-paramilitary-ties.html