HomeNewsBriefColombian Paramilitary Warlord Gets 33 Years in U.S.
BRIEF

Colombian Paramilitary Warlord Gets 33 Years in U.S.

AUC / 10 NOV 2011 BY JEREMY MCDERMOTT EN

One of Colombia's most powerful paramilitary leaders has been condemned by a Miami court to 33 years in prison, convicted of "leading an international drug trafficking ring which backed a terrorist organization."

Carlos Mario Jimenez, better known by his alias "Macaco" was perhaps the most powerful commander in the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). He led the Central Bolívar Bloc of the paramilitary army, which demobilized more than 5000 fighters during the peace process with the government. The AUC was on the U.S. list of terrorist organizations.

While Jimenez turned himself in as part of the government's amnesty legislation, the Peace and Justice Law, it was determined that he continued to run his drug trafficking empire while in prison, and therefore was not eligible for its benefits. He was considered so dangerous, that in the lead up to his extradition in 2008 he was kept not in a maximum security prison, but aboard a Colombian frigate on the high seas.

The drug trafficking networks, and much of the territory that Jimenez controlled, are mainly under the control of the Rastrojos, now one of Colombia's most powerful transnational criminal organizations.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Tags

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 12 MAY 2022

The assassination of a crusading Paraguayan prosecutor while on honeymoon in Colombia has caused widespread alarm about the rising levels…

COLOMBIA / 24 MAR 2023

The end of a ceasefire with Colombia's largest criminal group, the AGC, is a serious body blow to hopes for…

AUC / 15 SEP 2021

Dozens of properties and other assets seized from Memo Fantasma, one of Colombia’s foremost drug traffickers, will be used to…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Continues to be Highlighted

3 MAR 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-director Jeremy McDermott was the featured guest on the Americas Quarterly podcast, where he provided an expert overview of the changing dynamics…

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela's Organized Crime Top 10 Attracts Attention

24 FEB 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published its ranking of Venezuela’s ten organized crime groups to accompany the launch of the Venezuela Organized Crime Observatory. Read…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime on El País Podcast

10 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime co-founder, Jeremy McDermott, was among experts featured in an El País podcast on the progress of Colombia’s nascent peace process.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Interviewed by Associated Press

3 FEB 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s Co-director Jeremy McDermott was interviewed by the Associated Press on developments in Haiti as the country continues its prolonged collapse. McDermott’s words were republished around the world,…

THE ORGANIZATION

Escaping Barrio 18

27 JAN 2023

Last week, InSight Crime published an investigation charting the story of Desafío, a 28-year-old Barrio 18 gang member who is desperate to escape gang life. But there’s one problem: he’s…