The DEA have finally got their man. The 42 year old recognised as one of the most powerful of the jailed paramilitary leaders, Carlos Mario Jimenez, alias Macaco, has finally been extradited from Colombia to the US where he will face drugs charges.
Jimenez is thought to have been at the head of the now demobilised AUC, known in Spanish as the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or United Self-Defences of Colombia. The organization he formerly ran has long been linked with drug trafficking and money laundering as a means of personal enrichment and for the procurement of arms to continue the supposed struggle against left-wing guerrillas.
Before extradition was finally granted by the Supreme Court in Bogota, Jimenez himself was a resident of Colombia's most notorious jail, La Combita, where US authorities allege he continued to control illegal activities.
President Alvaro Uribe, in his quest to ensure continuing stability in Colombia, has long been operating a system of demobilization and rehabilitation of former paramilitary and guerrilla members. Members are promised light sentences and immunity from extradition if they confess to their crimes but in the case of Macaco it seems being in jail was no barrier to further illicit activities.
Speaking at a meeting for businessmen in Medellin, Mr Uribe said, "We're not going to reward people who revert to crime."
