The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) of Colombia summoned former Army commander Leonardo Barrero to testify for alleged “crimes committed by members of the public force in association with paramilitary groups” or “in direct and indirect relation to the armed conflict.” According to information that emerged this Tuesday.
The Colombian high court intends to investigate the events that occurred in the Urabá region, in the northwest of the country, between January 1, 1986 and December 1, 2016.
Barrero was accused by Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel”, top leader of the Clan del Golfo and extradited to the United States last year, of having ties to paramilitaries.
“Otoniel” assured that the paramilitaries allegedly paid General Mario Montoya, when he was commander of the Army’s First Division, to influence in 2005 the transfer of an officer who was an ally of that group to the department of Casanare (east).
This is not the first time that Barrero has been linked to drug traffickers, as he has also been associated with Juan Castro Estupiñán, alias “Matamba”, who was arrested in May 2021 and escaped from La Picota prison in Bogotá last March. .
The retired officer has denied any type of connection with alias “Matamba” and has stressed to journalists that during his career as a soldier he was always respectful of the law and made himself available for the Prosecutor’s Office to investigate his actions.
His arrest exposed a corruption network involving Colombian military and ex-military officers who allegedly supplied him with information about operations against his organization.