Colombia’s justice system handed down a historic sentence this Monday, January 19, against one of the country’s most emblematic former paramilitary leaders, Salvatore Mancuso. The Justice and Peace Chamber of the Barranquilla Superior Tribunal found Mancuso responsible for 117 crimes committed between 2002 and 2006, most of them against Wayúu Indigenous communities in the department of La Guajira.
The ruling, announced by the Attorney General’s Office, establishes a sentence of 40 years in prison and the obligation to pay a multimillion-dollar fine, although the application of the Justice and Peace Law—a special jurisdictional tribunal created during the presidency of Álvaro Uribe to try demobilized paramilitaries—could reduce that time if certain commitments to truth and reparation are met.
The decision represents a forceful step in the long process of transitional justice aimed at repairing the wounds of Colombia’s armed conflict, two decades after the events. For the affected communities, especially the Wayúu Indigenous peoples, the sentence represents a belated but significant acknowledgment of systematic abuses and of the responsibility of those who commanded armed structures operating outside the law.
Colombia sentences historic paramilitary leader Salvatore Mancuso
The ruling against Salvatore Mancuso is based on a detailed investigation by the Attorney General’s Office that documented how the paramilitary structures under his leadership carried out multiple acts of violence in La Guajira. The court concluded that members of the self-styled Wayúu Counterinsurgency Front, attached to the Northern Bloc of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), carried out killings, enforced disappearances, displacement, gender-based violence, and other serious crimes following directives that emanated from Mancuso himself.
Among the proven facts are specific attacks against Indigenous settlements, such as the armed incursion into the Manaki ranchería, where several Wayúu were beaten, mistreated, and symbolic cultural property was destroyed. The group is also attributed with the killing of two Indigenous people in Kepischon in 2002. These acts form part of a pattern of violence that marked the presence of paramilitaries in the north of the country during the most intense years of the armed conflict.
The court not only found criminal responsibility but also recognized Indigenous communities as subjects of collective reparation, which implies compensatory measures beyond Mancuso’s individual punishment. The decision seeks to underscore that the crimes were not isolated incidents but rather part of a systematic attack against entire peoples.
En atención a los argumentos presentados por la Fiscalía, la Sala de Justicia y Paz del Tribunal Superior de Barranquilla emitió sentencia condenatoria contra el exjefe paramilitar Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, por 117 hechos delictivos contra la población Wayúu y otras comunidades de…
— Fiscalía Colombia (@FiscaliaCol) January 19, 2026
Mancuso’s return and role in Colombia
Salvatore Mancuso has not been a distant figure for Colombian justice. After serving a 15-year sentence in the United States for drug trafficking, he was extradited and returned to Colombia in 2024 to face charges related to human rights violations. His presence in the country has been controversial, not only because of his past as an AUC commander but also because of his role as a “peace facilitator” appointed by the government of Gustavo Petro to mediate with illegal armed groups, a position that has sparked debate in the political and social arena.
This Monday’s conviction comes in a context in which Mancuso’s figure has polarized opinions. For many critics, his participation in peace processes has been an affront to the victims of paramilitarism, while others have argued that his cooperation with the justice system and demobilization processes could contribute to ending persistent violence in some regions. The Barranquilla ruling, by imposing a firm sentence for human rights crimes, seeks to balance these elements.
The ruling also imposed a ban on holding public office for the same period as the sentence and a fine equivalent to about US$14 million, measures intended to punish not only the criminal conduct but also the social and political consequences of his actions.
However, the possibility of an alternative sentence of up to eight years in prison, conditioned on compliance with commitments to truth, reparation, and non-repetition, reflects the complexities of transitional justice in Colombia, where the pursuit of truth is intertwined with sanctions and reparation mechanisms.
Repercussions and historical memory
Mancuso’s conviction resonates in a country that has spent decades trying to close the wounds of Latin America’s longest internal conflict. For the Wayúu communities and other victims of paramilitary violence, the ruling does not erase the suffering, but it does constitute an act of institutional recognition of the crimes committed.
Human rights organizations have pointed out that this type of judicial decision is essential for building a solid historical memory and for preventing new forms of violence.
At the same time, the sentence raises questions about the future of the transitional justice process and the relationship between punishment and reparation in a country where mechanisms of truth and justice have been the subject of constant political tensions. This Monday’s decision compels a reckoning not only with Mancuso’s individual acts but also with the structure of violence that made such crimes possible.
In a country fragmented by decades of armed confrontation, the conviction of Salvatore Mancuso for crimes against Indigenous peoples sends a clear message about responsibility and accountability, one more step on the long road toward justice and reconciliation.