Former congressman convicted for notorious paramilitary massacre .
Former congressman convicted for notorious paramilitary massacre .
Friday, 08 March 2013 09:29 Zach Edling
The former president of Colombia's house of representatives was convicted on Wednesday of financing and orchestrating a 1988 paramilitary-led massacre that killed 43 people - a crime he previously denied taking part in.
Cesar Perez lost the 1988 mayoral race in the town of Segovia in the central Antioquia department to Rita Ivone Tobon, who ran as a Patriotic Union (UP) candidate. The UP was a political party founded by the FARC, Colombia's largest left-wing guerrilla group, and the Colombian Communist Party. The party was eventually decimated by assassinations primarily carried out by right-wing paramilitaries.
According to Alonso de Jesus Baquero (alias "Vladamir"
, one of the leaders of the Segovia attack, Perez allegedly masterminded the assault in order to gain political power.
"He [Perez] asked Henry de Jesus Perez and Fidel Castaño to remove leftists from Segovia...so he could have absolute political control over the region," said Vladamir.
More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/28448-former-congressman-convicted-for-notorious-paramilitary-massacre.html
