Vicente Castaño Gil

Vicente Castaño

José Vicente Castaño Gil (born July 2, 1957 in Amalfi , Colombia ), also known as El Profe , is a Colombian drug trafficker and right-wing paramilitary. He was the leader of the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia (AUC), a right-wing paramilitary organization, and is the alleged head of the criminal organization Águilas Negras . Vicente Castaño is the brother of Fidel Castaño , the former leader of Los Pepes and founder of the Autodefensas Campesinas de Córdoba y Urabá (ACCU) and Carlos Castaño Gil , who headed the AUC until his death. Vicente is charged with ordering the murder of his brother Carlos.

career

Vicente Castaño was born as the son of a large landowner in the Colombian Departamento de Antioquia and was brought up Catholic with his brothers. He was the sixth of twelve siblings. When he was 12 years old, he dropped out of school to help his father with agricultural chores. At the age of 18 he left the village and went to neighboring Venezuela , where he also worked in agriculture for two years. Back in Colombia, Castaño worked with his brother Fidel Castaño in many companies, including a pub, a gold exchange in Segovia and agriculture. They later moved to Medellín , where they worked in the lottery business. Fidel's father, Jesús Antonio, was kidnapped from his Finca El Hundidor by the left-wing guerrilla group FARC . Even after several ransom payments, which did not reach the required amount, his father was not released. In 1981 the FARC informed him that his father had been murdered by them. As a result, the Castaño family became enemies with the FARC and indicated that they would go into battle in revenge against the guerrilla groups. Vicente became a member of the paramilitary group ACCU, which is held responsible for serious war crimes. The ACCU later became part of the AUC.

After the ACU was demobilized, he was charged with murdering his brother and former AUC leader Carlos Castaño. He has also been charged with drug trafficking by both the Colombian and United States governments . In August 2004, the United States formally applied for his extradition. However, Castaño remains fleeting and is the alleged head of the criminal organization Águilas Negras , which is made up of former paramilitary members of the AUC.

Possible death

Several sources claim that Castaño was murdered on the orders of Diego Murillo Bejarano (Don Berna) because of territorial disputes.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Semana: ¿Quién es Vicente Castaño? Retrieved July 2, 2020 (Spanish). 
2. ^ Bureau of Public Affairs Department Of State. The Office of Electronic Information: Vicente Castaño-Gil. June 4, 2007, accessed July 2, 2020 . 
3. ↑ Cambio.com.co - Portada -> Vicente Castaño: muerto. February 27, 2012, accessed July 2, 2020 .