Fugitive Colombian paramilitary head killed says ex-Venezuela V.P.

Former Venezuelan vice-president Jose Vicente Rangel stood by remarks made yesterday over the alleged death of former Colombian paramilitary leader Vicente Castaño. Rangel said that Castaño was killed during “a raid” in the Venezuela state of Zulia, and Rangel supported his sources in comments made this morning:

“My information comes from a reliable source. The Colombian government believes it is false…I have links to very good informers that could confirm what I claimed.”

Officially, the Colombian government maintains that domestic intelligence information shows that Castaño (image) is alive and continues as a fugitive. Meanwhile, Manuel Rosales- former presidential candidate and governor of Zulia- put down Rangel’s remarks and said that it was part of a government campaign to smear him.

On a related note, jailed ex-paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso alleged in an interview with Reuters that “veiled interests” in Colombia and abroad benefit from the country’s armed conflict and would not want the civil conflict to end.

Sources (Spanish)- RCN, El Diario/La Prensa, Caracol

Sources (English)- Reuters, The Latin Americanist

Image- Caracol