Salvatore Mancuso

Who is Salvatore Mancuso?

Salvatore Mancuso Gómez, also known as "el Mono Mancuso","Santander Lozada" or "Triple Cero", among other names is a Colombian paramilitary leader, once second in command of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group. The paramilitary groups commanded by Mancuso fought the guerrillas, and financed their activities by receiving donations from land owners, drug trafficking, extortions and robbery.

The AUC committed numerous atrocities and massacres against presumed guerrilla members and the civilian population. Mancuso was initially jailed in a Maximum Security Prison in Itagüí, Antioquia after a peace process that led to his demobilization and then transferred to a prison in the city of Cúcuta to help establish the whereabouts of some of the victims. In a surprise move by the Colombian government, Mancuso, along with 13 other top members of the AUC was extradited to the United States to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.