Salvatore Mancusoformer top boss of the calls United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, spoke exclusively to The Coronell Report about the alleged participation of former vice president Francisco Santos Calderón in the suggestion for the launch of the Capital Block of the Self-Defense Forces, something that Santos has denied on several occasions.
Faced with this, the former paramilitary chief commented that “the first time that Bogotá was besieged by the guerrilla, you could not get out of the leaks of Bogotá and at that moment, the powerful who live in this great city felt the rigor of the threat.” what the guerrilla meant at that time. Pachito went and met with the commander Carlos Castaño and with me and they asked us to create a block of self-defense”.
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As he explained, at that meeting the name of said block was planned, which would be called ‘Capital’, “to prevent the guerrillas from continuing to have them practically under siege as they had them at that time and from taking over this capital city. “We prevented the guerrillas from taking power by force of arms in the war, but we all lost.”
Adding that “then Pachito Santos was in the United States as an ambassador and in my case, when they asked me if I had a different citizenship and if I would like to go to a different country, I told them that I was in Justice and Peace and they had not fulfilled me and I was afraid that this failure would lead to taking me to Colombia to allow me to be murdered.so I preferred to go to Italy.”
“The United States issues a final removal order and designates Italy as the country of removal, everything was ready, they had three months to send me to Italy, but they could not reverse that order and Ambassador Pachito Santos agreed with President Trump’s government to change the final removal order Mancuso from Italy to Colombia, and They agreed that Colombia would provide the vote for the election of the president of the IDB, who by tradition has been Latin American, and that they would appoint an American director in that management.
Likewise, he highlighted that “there was enormous political pressure and those things made me take advantage of the international protection of the United Nations against torture, I was in that process, I even sent to tell the government that To the extent that they gave me the necessary measures, if they sent me to Italy I would return to Colombia and I did.”.
“When the president appoints me as peace manager, I decide to honor that appointment and I decide to honor the moral commitment that I have with the victims and I have returned to work for the peacefor reconciliation, but it is important that it be fulfilled”, he pointed out.
Finally, he clarified that on several occasions he has been asked not to talk about this situation that involves members of past governments, but he mentioned that He has never changed his versions and that is his truth.
Listen to the interview below:
“Pacho Santos met with Carlos Castaño and me”: Salvatore Mancuso
