The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (, or AUC, in Spanish) was a coalition of Colombian paramilitary organizations, vigilance committees, and a designated terrorist group that conceived itself as countering communist terrorism, banditry, and insurgency in Colombia. The AUC was an active belligerent in the Colombian conflict from 1997 to 2006. The AUC was responsible for retaliations against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and National Liberation Army (ELN) communist organizations, as well as numerous deadly attacks against civilians since its formation, starting with the 1997 Mapiripán massacre.
The militia had its roots in the 1980s when militias were established by drug lords to combat rebel kidnappings and extortion by communist guerrillas.BBC, Quick Guide, The Colombian conflict . In April 1997, the AUC was formed through a merger, orchestrated by the ACCU, of localized self-defense militias, each intending to protect different local economic, social, and political interests by fighting left-wing insurgents in their areas.The_National_Consortium_for_the_Study_of_Terrorism_and_Responses_to_Terrorism, Terrorist Organization Profile:United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), http://www.start.umd.edu/start/data_collections/tops/terrorist_organization_profile.asp?id=126
The organization was believed to have links to some local military commanders in the Colombian Armed Forces. According to Human Rights Watch, the paramilitary groups and the armed forces of Colombia share a very close connection, which causes paramilitary groups, more commonly called sixth-division, to be perceived as an extension of the Colombia's armed forces, which has five official divisions.
The AUC had about 20,000 members and was heavily financed through the drug trade and through support from local landowners, cattle ranchers, politicians, mining or petroleum companies, and other companies such as Chiquita Brands International.
The Colombian military has been accused of delegating to AUC paramilitaries the task of murdering peasants and labor union leaders, amongst others suspected of supporting communist rebel movements. The AUC publicly and explicitly singled out 'political and trade union operatives of the extreme left' as legitimate targets. No definitive proof of direct links to the Colombian government has been established. The AUC was designated as a terrorist organization by many countries and organizations, including the United States, Canada, and the European Union.
The bulk of the AUC's blocs demobilized by early 2006, and its former top leadership was extradited to the U.S. in 2008. However, local successors, such as the Black Eagles, continued to exist even after official demobilization. On May 8, 2008, employees of a community radio station (Sarare FM Stereo) received a message stating: "For the wellbeing of you and your loved ones, do not meddle in subjects that do not concern the radio station. AUC, Arauca". A few days later, the letters "AUC" were daubed on the front of their office. This threat was made due to their participation in a public meeting attended by members of a Congressional Human Rights Commission on 27 September, 2007. Here, members of the public denounced human rights abuses committed in Arauca Department by different parties to the armed conflict, including the AUC.
Activities
The AUC's main enemies were the leftist insurgency groups Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) and the National Liberation Army (, ELN). The AUC was designated as a terrorist organization by many countries and organizations, including the United States, Canada, and the European Union. The U.S. State Department added the AUC to the list in 2001, condemning it for massacres, torture, and other human rights abuses against civilians.
According to the Colombian National Police, in the first ten months of 2000 the AUC conducted 804 assassinations, 203 kidnappings, and 75 massacres with 507 victims. The AUC claimed the victims were mostly guerrillas or sympathizers. Combat tactics consisted of conventional and guerrilla operations against main force insurgent units. AUC clashes with military and police units gradually increased, although the group was traditionally friendly with government security forces.
A February 2005 report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that, during 2004, "the AUC was responsible for 342 cases of violations of the cessation of hostilities. These include the presumed reincorporation of demobilized persons into its ranks, massacres, forced displacements, selective and systematic homicides, kidnappings, rape, disappearances, threats, intimidation and lootings. These actions took place in 11 departments and targeted the civilian population, in many cases indigenous communities."Report on the situation of human rights in Colombia UNHCR 28 February 2005 (English and Spanish)
Human Rights Watch reports allege that numerous elements within the Colombian military and police have collaborated with or continue to tolerate local AUC paramilitary groups.Report from Human Rights Watch
Under the leadership of Salvatore Mancuso, son of Italian immigrants, the AUC maintained close links with the Calabrian 'Ndrangheta criminal organization concerning cocaine trafficking.Tiene Italia indicios sobre presencia de cárteles mexicanos en Europa , El Universal, 15 April 2007
One of the AUC's targets was Colombian trade unions. Former AUC leader, Carlos Castaño, said: "We kill trade unionists because they interfere with people working."American Center for International Labor Solidarity (2006), Justice For All: The Struggle for Worker Rights in Colombia , p12
Links to corporations
In March 2007, the international fruit corporation, Chiquita, admitted to having paid the AUC US$1.7 million from 1997 to 2004, ostensibly to protect its workers and operations in Urabá and Santa Marta, of which at least US$825,000 came after the AUC was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the US State Department in 2001. These payments were often made through a group belonging to the Convivir network, a government-sponsored program of rural security cooperatives.DOCUMENTS IMPLICATE COLOMBIAN GOVERNMENT IN CHIQUITA TERROR SCANDAL , National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book No. 217 The payments were arranged during a 1997 meeting between Carlos Castaño, Veloza and Delio Agudelo with officials from Banadex, a subsidiary of Chiquita.Michael Evans, 'Para-politics' Goes Bananas , The Nation, 4 April 2007
Chiquita subsequently made a plea bargain with the United States Department of Justice, and agreed to pay a $25 million fine.Chiquita Brands International Pleads Guilty to Making Payments to a Designated Terrorist Organization And Agrees to Pay $25 Million Fine , United States Department of Justice, 19 March 2007 Colombia's attorney general, Mario Iguarán, also opened a case on Chiquita. He stated that he will request the extradition of eight Chiquita officials connected to the case. He also charged Chiquita with using one of their ships to smuggle weapons (some 3,400 AK-47 rifles and 4 million rounds of ammunition) for the AUC. These charges were first brought ahead in a 2003 report from the Organization of American States (OAS).
Later, Attorney General Iguarán contradicted himself by claiming the extraditions could not be completed since the implicated persons had not been "identified and charged." Specifically, Iguarán asserted "there are indeed some Chiquita Brands directors, but we are not able to ask for them in extradition, rather we have to have some information contained in the agreement reached with the U.S. court that includes a confidentiality agreement." Nonetheless, information on the identities of the implicated Chiquita directors, executives, and senior employees – namely Cyrus Freid Heim Jr., Roderick M. Hills, Robert Olson, Morten Arzen, Jeffery D. Benjamin, Steven Stanbrook, Durk I. Jager, Jaime Serra, Robert F. Kistenberger, James B. Riley, Robert W. Fisher, Carl H. Linder, Keith Linder, and Steven Warshaw – have already been presented before the Attorney General's Office.Chiquita Board Members: Total Identification , Jose_Alvear_Restrepo_Lawyers'_Collective, July 23, 2008
Israeli role
According to a 1989 Colombian Secret Police intelligence report, apart from training Carlos Castaño in 1983, Israeli trainers arrived in Colombia in 1987 to train him and other paramilitaries who would later make up the AUC. Fifty of the paramilitaries' "best" students were then sent on scholarships to Israel for further training, according to a Colombian police intelligence report.
2003–2004: Initial negotiation efforts
After a ceasefire was declared (which in practice was publicly admitted by the AUC and the government to be partial, resulting in a reduction but not the cessation of killings), the government of President Álvaro Uribe began talks with the group with the aim of eventually dismantling the organization and reintegrating its members into society. The stated deadline for completing the demobilization process was originally December 2005, but was later extended into February 2006. Between 2003 and February 2, 2006, about 17,000 of the AUC's 20,000 fighters surrendered their weapons. This is more than double the figure originally estimated by the government before negotiations began.
A draft law was presented to the public which offered to pardon the members of any illegal armed group (which would legally include both guerrillas and paramilitaries, i.e. members of both left- and right-wing groups) that declared a ceasefire and entered talks with the government, in return for, mainly, their verified demobilization, concentration within a specific geographic area, and the symbolic reparation of the offenses committed against the victims of their actions. After much discussion and controversy over it, a further revised draft was distributed to the media and political circles. This new project was not officially submitted for approval by Congress and further public discussion on the matter continued.
The bill, among other details, called for the creation of a three-to-five member Truth Tribunal, which would study each case brought before it (at the request of the president). The groups/individuals would sign an agreement to respect international humanitarian laws and accept the authority of the Tribunal in exchange for a minimum sentence of five to ten years (part of it could possibly be served outside jail), for those guilty of the most serious crimes, the confession of the crimes which were committed in connection with the activities of the illegal armed group and the completion of concrete acts of reparation towards the victims. If the Tribunal were to deny the benefits to anyone, there would be no possibility of reconsideration. However, the president would be able to veto individuals who did receive a favorable sentence. This new draft version of the law would have been in effect only until 31 December, 2006.
Human Rights Watch spokesman José Miguel Vivanco publicly stated, during one of the final audiences which were created to discuss aspects of the original bill (of which he remained highly critical), that the new proposition seemed to be considerably more in line with international standards, at first glance, but more needed to be done in order to fully resolve the issue.
Salvatore Mancuso, one of the AUC's main commanders, publicly expressed that he was against any potential extradition of either himself or his "comrades in arms" to the USA and refused "spending a single day in jail".