Pubdate: Wed, 30 May 2007
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Section: A
Copyright: 2007 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Chris Kraul, Times Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/topics/Colombia

COLOMBIAN MAYOR'S 2003 DEATH DETAILED

A Paramilitary Boss' Testimony Underscores Militias' Grip on 
Political and Business Life in the Nation.

SINCELEJO, COLOMBIA -- This is the chronicle of a death foretold.

Mayor Eudaldo "Tito" Diaz knew he was a marked man. He had resisted 
right-wing paramilitary fighters in El Roble, a town in the northern 
state of Sucre, and the assassins had him in their sights. In a town 
hall meeting, he confronted Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, 
grabbing the microphone and warning that he was going to be killed.

Two months later, Diaz was seized by a dozen men in several cars, 
apparently betrayed by members of his personal security team.

He was taken to the notorious paramilitary "concentration camp," a 
ranch called El Palmar where several mass graves have been found. He 
was tortured for five days before being shot to death.

The assassination of Diaz, a 47-year-old doctor, affords a glimpse of 
the nightmare that war-torn Colombia has experienced for decades. The 
nation relived the nightmare this month with the testimony of 
paramilitary capo Salvatore Mancuso, as he confessed to drug 
trafficking, mass murder, extortion and usurping vast tracts of land 
- -- all with the help of corrupt politicians.

In the four northern states, including Sucre, that Mancuso 
controlled, politicos who resisted were ruthlessly cut down. Diaz 
became one of the victims in April 2003.

"My father died wanting a better country, where mafias can't traffic 
in drugs and loot cities, where innocent people aren't killed at the 
whim of politicians to perpetuate themselves in power," said Juan 
David Diaz, the late mayor's 28-year-old son, who also is a doctor 
and who now heads the local victims rights group Movement of Victims 
of State Crimes, based here in Sucre's capital.

Tell-All Testimony

In his tell-all session before a special tribunal, Mancuso was the 
first in a parade of paramilitary leaders expected to testify before 
a special court to comply with terms of Colombia's peace process and 
exempt themselves from extradition to the United States.

Tales of atrocities committed by paramilitaries and left-wing rebels 
are nothing new in Colombia after four decades of civil war, and the 
nation will probably hear many more such accounts in the coming 
months as other paramilitary leaders appear in court.

But the first-person account from Mancuso, reading calmly from a 
laptop computer and dressed impeccably in expensive-looking business 
suits, added a special note of horror. As he ticked off the names of 
dozens of politicians he controlled and of the businessmen he 
extorted for financial support, the extent to which the 
paramilitaries' tentacles reached into Colombia's political and 
business life became vividly evident.

Mancuso completed his testimony in the same week that arrest warrants 
were issued for five more Colombian Congress members, nearly all 
Uribe supporters, for alleged dealings with the illegal right-wing 
militias. That brought the number of lawmakers behind bars to 13, all 
but one of whom are Uribe supporters. Vice President Francisco Santos 
said this month that the number could go as high as 40.

The ripples from the arrests and Mancuso's testimony reached all the 
way to Washington, where Congress since 2000 has approved more than 
$5 billion in anti-drug and counter-terrorism aid under Plan Colombia.

Although the crimes in question happened years ago, observers say the 
month's events have worsened the odds for a U.S.-Colombia free-trade 
agreement, thrown a shadow over Plan Colombia and lessened confidence in Uribe.

The right-wing militias were formed by ranchers as self-defense 
groups to face down leftist rebel groups. But they have morphed into 
criminal gangs that killed, plundered and trafficked in drugs.

Mancuso testified as part of the demobilization process that has seen 
31,000 militia members lay down their arms. He and the other 
paramilitary leaders expect light sentences in exchange for admitting 
all of their atrocities, making reparations and renouncing their 
criminal enterprises. But, as recently leaked transcripts of wiretaps 
of the jailed leaders seem to show, many continue managing their 
criminal networks from their jail cells.

Mancuso and other paramilitary leaders had numerous ways of financing 
their military operations and enriching themselves. Drug trafficking 
was the principal method, supplying 70% of the money paramilitaries 
generated, the late paramilitary leader Carlos Castano once said. 
They also shook down all of the businesses in their zones of 
influence, from banana plantations to taxi drivers, for monthly 
protection payments, or "vaccinations."

Through corrupt politicians at the state and national level, Mancuso 
and other paramilitary leaders took control of state lotteries and 
regional public works projects, which they systematically looted or 
took kickbacks from. In return, politicians who carried their water 
were assured of victory at the polls through intimidation of 
potential rivals and of voters.

Diaz ran for mayor with plans to improve the quality of life of the 
people of El Roble with better healthcare, education and public 
works. But soon after his election, paramilitaries, through corrupt 
politicians, began making demands, including the right to pick the 
town treasurer and directors of health, education and public works, 
said the younger Diaz.

By controlling those posts, Mancuso and his minions could loot the 
bulk of El Roble's $1-million annual budget plus tens of thousands 
more dollars in health funds transferred from the national 
government. Diaz rejected the demands.

"The paramilitaries wanted all the resources that the town had to 
progress. But my father couldn't just leave the town in misery," Diaz 
said. "He was the only mayor of Sucre to resist, and so is the only 
mayor to be killed in the last several years."

Previous Complaint

Mayor Diaz had complained to Uribe on two occasions that his life was 
in danger, first in December 2002, saying that the paramilitaries had 
the support of Sucre Gov. Salvador Arana, now a fugitive wanted on 
paramilitary corruption charges.

Diaz confronted Uribe a second time at the town hall meeting in 
February 2003. He took over the microphone, denounced the governor 
and other officials for being in league with the paramilitary forces, 
and warned that he would soon be killed for speaking out.

According to those present, he spoke for 10 minutes and continued 
even though a bell rang twice signaling that his time was up. He 
finally ceded the floor when Uribe told his director of town hall 
meetings to launch an investigation.

Uribe previously had sent 2,000 additional troops to El Roble because 
it straddles drug-trafficking routes.

Before killing him, Diaz's assassins made him sign several blank 
orders authorizing fake public works projects in El Roble -- another 
way paramilitaries loot small towns' treasuries.

"In the end, they got what they wanted," his son said. "But they had 
to kill him first."
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake