‘Macaco’ Declares Himself Innocent On His First Day in U.S.

Carlos Mario Jiménez, the ex-military leader of the Central Bolivian Block (Bcb, Bloque Central Bolívar), visibly nervous, went yesterday before Judge Alan Key, in the United States.

‘Macaco (the ape, bigwig),’ who was extradited Wednesday morning, didn’t accept the public defender, Gregory Spencer (from the Simon Trinidad case), assigned by the court to represent him. He announced that he already had two lawyers: Rick Diaz, of Miami, and Donna Newman, a noted New York attorney, who is well-known for a case she won last January, in which an Al-Qaeda member received 17 years in prison, not a life sentence. Newman managed no less than five times to visit ‘Macaco’ when he was held in the Itagui prison, before being moved to the Combita prison.

The ex-paramilitary leader, feared for a rise in assassinations in more that 10 sections of the country and known as one of the strong paramilitaries and a “narco pura sangre,” will have to face charges of terrorism and conspiracy to introduce cocaine to the United States. For the former, the minimum sentence is 60 years. Before the court is scheduled to meet officially for the first time on May 23rd, he declared himself to be innocent of all the charges brought against him by the American judicial system which extradited him. Attention is now focused on his known associates. Investigators from the National Police said that ‘Macaco’ can identify the drug traffickers who helped his business maintain a low profile. Also at risk are the ex-paramilitary leaders who continued to benefit from and aid drug trafficking after the demobilization.

With the extradition of ‘Macaco’ the door is now open for other ex-military leaders who have continued to operate illegally for the cartels. This is the case for Diego Fernando Murillo, ‘don Berna,’ the highest leader of the feared Office of Envigado and the groups Heroes of Tolova and Chief Nutibara (regional drug gangs in Colombia). The authorities have him in their sights after investigations that resulted in the capture of 16 people, including seven soldiers from “Los Paisas” and “Los Traquetos,” two emerging narcotics gangs who have influence in Urabá, Córdoba, and Antioquia. The Colombian government suspects him of being the current leader of these two cocaine trafficking organizations.