HTTP/1.0 200 OK Content-Type: text/html Head Of Colombia Militia Resigns Post 
Pubdate: Thu, 07 Jun 2001
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2001 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Associated Press

HEAD OF COLOMBIA MILITIA RESIGNS POST

BOGOTA, Colombia--The charismatic leader of Colombia's top paramilitary 
militia has resigned his post, the outlawed right-wing group said 
Wednesday, in a shake-up thought to reflect internal divisions in the 
rapidly growing force.

Carlos Castano was reassigned to manage the political affairs of the United 
Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, but with no top leader named in his place, 
observers aren't expecting him to fade from the scene.

The group, known as the AUC, has become a major force in Colombia's 37-year 
civil war. It is waging a brutal campaign against guerrillas and their 
suspected collaborators, often massacring them. Fueled by drug profits and 
the government's failure to provide security in the countryside, it has 
expanded into an 8,000-strong, nationwide force.

However, the rapid expansion--and a recent government crackdown against the 
group--prompted internal rifts that apparently led to Castano's resignation.

Under pressure from Washington to improve human rights, President Andres 
Pastrana's government has begun confronting the AUC following years of 
state tolerance. The United States is providing Colombia with hundreds of 
millions of dollars in military aid.

Tensions within the AUC bubbled over in recent days, following recent 
arrests of militia members and a raid on the home of an AUC commander's wife.

Castano earlier made public a resignation letter in which he cryptically 
indicated his disagreement with other AUC commanders who were reportedly 
calling for retaliation strikes against the government. Castano is 
considered a relative moderate in the organization.

In a statement posted on the AUC's Internet site Wednesday, the group said 
it had accepted Castano's resignation. It said he had been appointed to 
conduct the AUC's political affairs.
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