DON BERNA TURNS HIMSELF IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 005310

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2015
TAGS: PTER SNAR PHUM PREL KJUS CO AUC
SUBJECT: DON BERNA TURNS HIMSELF IN

REF: BOGOTA 05093

Classified By: Ambassador William B. Wood for reasons
1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Senior AUC commander Diego Murillo ("Don
Berna") turned himself into authorities on May 27 and agreed
to demobilize his several thousand paramilitaries. He is
being held in a police-controlled confinement area in Cordoba
Department, where he will be investigated and tried for the
murder of a local Cordoba official. During the incident, two
of the other most powerful paramilitary commanders Vicente
Castano and Javier Montanez agreed to begin demobilizing
their troops. The Peace Commissioner publicly stated that
charges against Murillo for other crimes had not been
suspended, but that he first had to answer for the murder.
Murillo is indicted in the U.S. on drug trafficking charges.
President Uribe encouraged the U.S. to issue an extradition
request but may choose to condition Murillo's extradition to
his failure to comply with the peace process, including
whether or not he fully demobilizes all his troops. End
summary.

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The Deal
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2. (SBU) On May 27, senior AUC commander Diego Murillo
Bejarano turned himself over to Colombian authorities after
President Uribe had ordered his arrest for violating the AUC
cease-fire (reftel). Murillo agreed to demobilize the 4,000
or so paramilitaries under his control and answer to the
justice system in exchange for being held in a
government-controlled confinement area in the rural district
of Las Piedras, Cordoba Department -- essentially a type of
house arrest.


3. (SBU) On May 31, the police transported Murillo to Las
Piedras. The area is under police control with oversight
from the National Institute for Prisons (INPEC) and the Peace
Commissioner's Office. The GOC has stated that the
confinement zone is open to international monitoring. While
in the zone, Murillo will be investigated and tried for the
murder of a local Cordoba official. The Prosecutor General's
office has already sent a team of prosecutors to Cordoba to
begin investigating Murillo. Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos
Restrepo said publicly that, while the other charges against
Murillo had not been suspended, Murillo would first be tried
for the murder.

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Demobilizations Planned
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4. (SBU) Murillo is one of the most powerful AUC commanders.
He exerts heavy control in Medellin, where his bloc, the
Heroes of Granada, operates, and also controls several
thousand troops elsewhere in the country, including the
Pacific Bloc on the coast of Cauca and Valle del Cauca
Departments. During the incident, Peace Commissioner
Restrepo met with senior paramilitary commanders Vicente
Castano and Javier Montanez, who also agreed to begin
demobilizing their troops. Restrepo has emphasized that
Murillo's arrest brought new life to the peace process and
will mark the start of a new round of demobilizations. He
reported that the first of Murillo's blocs to demobilize will
be the "Heroes of Tolova" in the municipality of Valencia,
Cordoba. According to Restrepo, the Centauros Bloc, the
Montes de Maria Self-defense Forces, the Pacific Bloc, the
Heroes of Granada, the Liberators of the South, and the
Self-defense Forces of Meta and Vichada are all scheduled to
be demobilized by Murillo, Castano, or Montanez.

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Extradition Pending
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5. (C) The U.S. issued a provisional arrest warrant for
Murillo in July 2004 for drug trafficking and is preparing a
formal extradition request. President Uribe encouraged the
extradition request. However, he may decide not to extradite
Murillo if he complies with demobilization, as Uribe did in
the case of Salvatore Mancuso. We have urged in the
strongest terms that President Uribe hold Murillo to all his
commitments.


WOOD