Before the JEP, General (r) Leonardo Barrero was called by alias “Otoniel” to be an ally of the AUC

After several interruptions by agents of the National Police, David Antonio Úsuga, alias “Otoniel”, gave an affidavit to the Special Jurisdiction for Peace in connection with crimes against humanity in Casanare, within the framework of the armed conflict in Colombia.

In the diligence that took place since 1:00 in the afternoon of Wednesday, March 23, the former head of the Gulf Clan accused General (r) Leonardo Barrero, former commander of the Military Forces, of having had links with the Self-Defense Forces and of supporting the Centauros Bloc in the war they waged, with he was in command of the bloc paramilitary.

As revealed by W Radio, “Otoniel”, during the hearing he said that General Barrero received money from this block to be his ally during wartime. Before the justice of the peace, the criminal boss said that the bribe to the military exceeded 450 million pesos that would have been made in three payments, “because he did not want monthly disbursements,” he would have said.

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In a first rapprochement with the JEP earlier this year “Otoniel”, he recalled the moment when he met General Barrero. “I met him when I was commander of the Junín Battalion with an area of influence in the departments of Córdoba, the Southern Mojana, Antioquia and Bolivar and I coordinated joint operations with him between the AUC and soldiers attached to the Junín Battalion,” he confessed.

Another name that the commander of the Gulf Clan pointed out was that of Orlando Rivas, former director of DAS in the department of Casanare. Given this, “Otoniel” stated that the official was a paid collaborator of the Self-Defense Forces. According to 'Otoniel', Rivas and the Centauros Block collaborated by sharing information between 2006 and 2008.

The radio station reported that Úsuga said during the statement that, “almost all the DAS in the department of Casanare was on the payroll of the Self-Defense Forces” and that there was even a group of “six DAS boys” among them two nicknamed 'El Costeño' and 'El Paisa', with whom they had direct links. He also indicated that one of the men of the paramilitary organization known by the alias “El Llanero” handled hiring with staff from the department's governorate.

On this occasion, according to the sources present at the stage, there was no altercation or encounter with the police. The hearing was held in the presence of Judge Oscar Parra of the JEP, 'Otoniel', his advocate, Prosecutor Alonso Pío Fernández and representatives of the victims.

It is important to remember that General Leonardo Alfonso Barrero Gordillo was relieved of the position of commander of the Military Forces in early 2014 by then-President Juan Manuel Santos, following a conversation he had in 2012 with the controversial Colonel Róbinson González del Río, convicted of a false positive committed in Caldas.

On February 22, the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation opened a preliminary investigation against General (r) Leonardo Alfonso Barrero, for his relationship with the Gulf Clan. According to interceptions made by the authorities, Barrero was known within the criminal organization by the alias “The Godfather”.

For its part, investigations by the Attorney General's Office indicate that the officer would be part of the substructure “La Cordillera” of the Gulf Clan, since at least 2019. In the same year, while Barrero was active, he was director of the Timely Action Plan for Prevention and Protection for Human Rights Defenders, Social Leaders and Journalists (PAO), appointed by the Ministry of the Interior.

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