2023-05-17 02:27:00
The rejection by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) of former paramilitary chief Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, alias Jorge 40, came almost as a warning to those who are in the same situation, such as Salvatore Mancuso: whoever does not contribute to the “full truth” and demonstrate that it played a pivotal role in the relationship between the AUC and the Public Force, it will not be able to access the benefits of this transitional justice.
The decision, which left Jorge 40 out, is final and was issued by the Chamber for the Definition of Legal Situations after concluding that he failed to comply with various requirements of that transitional justice and did not reveal unpublished evidence and details of his relationship with the military.
In fact, this is the first known determination of a group of former paramilitary chiefs who, after requesting to be received by the JEP, had the opportunity to hold a single real hearing that would be the last letter to demonstrate that they were valuable within the macro case. 08.
Said front of the JEP investigates the crimes committed by the Public Force and State agents in association with paramilitary groups or civilian third parties during the armed conflict.
Thus, the determination of the Chamber for the Definition of Legal Situations could be understood as a message to Mancuso that, if he does not count enough, he will be rejected in the same way.
“Jorge 40” was the top commander of the Northern Bloc of the AUC that operated in Magdalena, César, La Guajita, Atlántico and Santander. After submitting to Justice and Peace, he admitted being responsible for more than 600 crimes, including massacres, homicides and kidnappings. In fact, and given his long criminal record, Tovar Pupo was sentenced in February of this year to 40 years in prison.
The sentence, imposed by the Fourth Criminal Court of the Bogotá Specialized Circuit, was given after verifying his responsibility as the author of the homicides of the merchant Rubén Dario Quintero Fuentes and his bodyguard Rafael Ovalle Daza.
In addition, the former paramilitary chief has already spent 12 years in prison in the United States for drug trafficking. After remaining all those years as extradited, Tovar Pupo was deported to Colombia in September 2020.
But why would Jorge 40 want to enter the Special Jurisdiction for Peace? The letter of entry that the ex-commanders have always wanted to use has always been that they want to “provide the truth that did not come out in Justice and Peace and that the victims need,” as Rodrigo Tovar said at the time.
Despite this, in the background is the idea of the ex-paras to receive the generous benefits offered by the JEP for those appearing who collaborate with justice.
For those who make effective contributions and provide valuable information, the JEP can order measures such as conditional release, a benefit highly desired by men like Mancuso and Jorge 40.
In his only real hearing before the JEP, held in January of this year, Tovar Pupo assured that he was no longer interested in being admitted because “this Jurisdiction can no longer offer me what I need” and limited himself to recounting testimonies that were already known. .
In addition to his arrival from the United States and his intention to join the JEP, Jorge 40 has also been in the news in recent months because his son, Jorge Rodrigo Tovar Vélez, was chosen to represent the victims of the armed conflict in one of the Circumscriptions Peace Specials that arose as a result of the Peace Agreement between the extinct FARC and the State.
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