Carlos Castaño, leader of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), the biggest umbrella association of paramilitary groups, is pressing hard on the government to obtain the suspension of arrest warrants issued against paramilitary `commanders' and the granting of official safeconducts. The overt reason is that these people need freedom of movement if they are to attend to the formidable logistical challenge of demobilising the paramilitary fighters.
To drive home the point, Castaño went public with a detailed schedule of the organisations that will `enter fully into a process of demobilisation' towards the end of this year — 4,250 fighters in all, due to congregate in seven concentration areas. In doing so, he has provided a snapshot of the geographic reach and relative strengths of the various groups (see box).
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