Carlos Mario Jiménez, alias ´Macaco´, in context

Carlos Mario Jiménez, alias ´Macaco´, in context
B. PROFILE AND AREA OF INFLUENCE1
The life of alias ´Macaco´ has always been linked to drug trafficking. Since the 1980’s, he had formed part of the
famous Norte del Valle Cartel, located in the north of Valle del Cauca, near the province of Risaralda, where he
had lived as a child. In 1998, Vicente and Carlos Castaño, recognized narco-paramilitaries, gave ´Macaco´ the
command of the men who had come together under the name ´Central Bolívar Bloc´ (BCB for its acronym in
Spanish), which belonged to the so called Autodefensas de Colombia (AUC)2. The BCB´s area of influence was in
Sur de Bolívar. ´Macaco’s´ main task was to control the drug trafficking routes in that area. It has been said that
to conform this group, ´Macaco´ paid the Castaño brothers approximately five million dollars, which seems to
confirm what many analysts have pointed out: the modus operandi of paramilitary groups responded to mainly
economic interests (lawful and unlawful) and territorial control.
On June 16th of 2007, SEMANA magazine published information about the paramilitary’s fortune: “¿Empresario
de la paz? Un informe oficial sobre los negocios de la familia de Carlos Mario Jiménez, 'Macaco', empieza a
develar una eventual operación millonaria de lavado de activos."3 The document points out that
"... in a report produced by the Financial Information and Analysis Unit (Uiaf for its acronym in Spanish)- a unit of
the Treasury Department which aims to prevent and detect money laundering in different sectors of the economyconcluded a thorough report, a little more than a year ago, on the family finances of alias 'Macaco'." The 23 page
document, numbered 868, was provided to the money laundering unit of the Attorney General’s Office to establish
if the paramilitary commander’s ex-wife, children and several friends had a role in laundering the fortune acquired
4
in drug trafficking by means of legal businesses."
To launder the drug trafficking money, ´Macaco´ acquired four mining licenses, through the company Sociedad
Minera Grifos S.A., to exploit gold in Zargoza, Antioquia, Barranco de Loba and Montecristo. In the case of
Barranco de Loba and Montecristo, located in Sur de Bolívar, the company´s arrival was preceded by violent
actions that generated several displacements5 of the region's population. According to intelligence reports, even
though ´Macaco´ is extradited in the United States, there is still a gold mine under his control in Bajo Cauca6.
1
The information on ´Macaco´ is based on the Verdad Abierta version, http://www.verdadabierta.com/victimarios/losjefes/689-perfil-de-carlos-mario-jimenez-alias-macaco, consulted by PCS: August 16th, 2010.
2
Translator’s Note: Self-defense Forces of Colombia or AUC for its acronym in Spanish.
3
Translator´s Note: Article titled: Businessman for Peace? An official report on the Carlos Mario Jiménez, 'Macaco',
family businesses, begin to revel an eventual multi-million-dollar money laundering operation."
4
http://www.semana.com/nacion/articulo/empresario-paz/86574-3
Verdad Abierta, September 2nd, 2008, http://www.verdadabierta.com/victimarios/los-negocios/211-el-dorado-deqmacacoq, consulted by PCS: July 23rd, 2010.
6
El Tiempo, http://m.eltiempo.com/justicia/macaco-ex-jefe-de-las-auc-estaria-controlando-desde-ee-uu-mina-de-oro-enel-bajo-cauca/7904876/1/home , consulted by PCS: May 2nd, 2011.
5
At the time of his demobilization, ´Macaco´ had an army of 7,000 men which operated in Sur de Bolívar, the Bajo
Cauca Antioqueño, the Nariño coast, Caqueta, and part of Guaviare and Catatumbo. After his alleged
demobilization, there are reports that ´Macaco´ continued to commit crimes as a member of the paramilitary
group ´Aguilas Negras´ (so called "criminal gang")7. In July of 2012, this paramilitary group was denounced by the
Comité Estudiantil de Derechos Humanos de la Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira - CEDH UTP-, for threatening
and stigmatizing student organizations - student and faculty leadership - of being guerrillas8.
The Central Bolívar Bloc spread throughout the country reaching the point of controlling 8 paramilitary groups9.
The bloc’s history is extremely violent; leaving victims in at least ten provinces: Bolívar, Antioquia, Caldas,
Risaralda, Quindío, Arauca, Vichada, Nariño, Caquetá and Putumayo. Just in Sur de Bolívar, the Justice and Peace
offices 51 and 52 in Bucaramanga, and 41 and 42 in Medellin, have reports of 14,000 victims, including cases of
the recruitment of minors, massacres, disappearances and forced displacements. In Barrancabermeja, the May
16th, 1998 massacre is most remembered, when 32 people were killed10.
7
Gallon, G. and Diaz, A. (eds.), (2010) Colombia: La Metáfora del desmantelamiento de los grupos paramilitares, segundo
informe de balance sobre la aplicación de la ley 975 de 2005. Bogota, Colombian Commission of Jurists, p260.
8
Colectivo de Abogados, CCAJAR, July 23rd, 2012, http://www.colectivodeabogados.org/Amenazas-proferidas-por-alias .
Consulted by PCS: July 23rd, 2012.
9
Verdad Abierta, November 1st, 2011, http://verdadabierta.com/component/content/article/82-imputaciones/3639-laincursion-paramilitar-al-caqueta/, consulted by PCS: November 1st, 2011.
10
Verdad Abierta, ´ Central Bolivar webpage´, February 10th, 2011, http://www.verdadabierta.com/victimarios/3001 ,
consulted on the same date.