Journalistic and humanitarian reasons led Vice-President, Francisco Santos, to meet with paramilitary leaders on four separate occasions in the 90’s and he will declare as much when he gives his statement to the Attorney General on March 1st.

Santos assures that those who tried to implicate him with these organizations are “three bandits, two of whom have been extradited”. Salvatore Mancuso, now serving time in the United States, said that both he and Carlos Castaño, between 1996 and 1998, met with Santos who expressed his intention to create a paramilitary bloc in Bogota, accusations the Vice-President says are “atrocities”.

“One builds honor his entire life and some can destroy it in two seconds”, he said and added that he believes the entire case is the result of extradited paramilitaries trying to get revenge.