‘You don’t respect me, but I’m worthy of respect’. Paramilitaries’ prison experience and conflict transformation in Colombia
| Published date | 01 December 2019 |
| Date | 01 December 2019 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1462474518809012 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
‘You don’t respect me,
but I’m worthy of
respect’. Paramilitaries’
prison experience and
conflict transformation
in Colombia
Libardo J Ariza and Manuel Iturralde
Universidad de los Andes, Colombia
Abstract
Through the case study of demobilised paramilitaries in Colombia, this article seeks to
discuss how former combatants’ identities and perspectives are shaped by specific prison
conditions, as well as the consequences of these vis-a
`-vis the fulfilment of transitional
justice’s general goals of the reintegration of ex-combatants and peace-building. Former
combatants incarcerated in facilities lacking minimum human rights standards, where
State authority and legitimacy are weak, and where the precariousness of rehabilitation
and re-entry programmes is manifest, have little opportunity of peacefully reintegrating
into their communities and society. Under such conditions, ex-combatants adopt a dis-
course of resistance, which increases the risks of reoffending and rejoining illegal armed
groups after release. This is not only counterproductive for peace-building and social
reconciliation but it can also lead to the resumption of the armed conflict.
Keywords
Colombia, conflict transformation, Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration,
ex-combatants, human rights, imprisonment, paramilitaries, prisoner re-entry, rehabil-
itation programmes, transitional justice
Corresponding author:
Manuel Iturralde, Universidad de los Andes, Cra 1 No. 18A-10, Edificio RGC, Bogota
´111711, Colombia.
Email: miturral@uniandes.edu.co
Punishment & Society
2019, Vol. 21(5) 596–615
!The Author(s) 2018
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/1462474518809012
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Introduction
On 25 November 2003, 885 combatants, members of the Cacique Nutibara regi-
ment, handed in their weapons in Medellin and demobilised as a first step towards
reintegrating into society and deescalating the Colombian armed conflict.
1
The Acuerdo de Santa Fe de Ralito, the peace agreement between the Colombian
government and the Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia – AUC – (the umbrella
organisation that unified right-wing paramilitary groups) had been signed a few
months before, on 15 July 2003, and paved the way for the dismantling of para-
military structures in Colombia. Nearly 31,671 paramilitary combatants demobi-
lised (Centro de Memoria Hist
orica, 2015: 33).
For most of the demobilised paramilitaries, the path from war to reconciliation
was to be guided by the Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR)
policy, designed by the Colombian government. Some of them, nonetheless, would
not reintegrate so straightforwardly into society, as the seriousness of the crimes
they committed demanded a different institutional response. Before reintegrating
into civil society, ex-combatants accountable for war crimes and crimes against
humanity had to do prison time. According to the Justice and Peace Act,
2
they
would have to spend from five to eight years in prison, as they had to serve a pena
alternativa (reduced sentence) in one of the Colombian supermax facilities, in
exchange for their contribution to truth and victims’ reparations.
Between 2006 and 2013, 1066 former members of illegal armed groups who were
already held in Colombian prisons submitted to the Justice and Peace Jurisdiction in
order to obtain reduced sentences – they represented 21.4% of ex-combatants under
the Justice and Peace Jurisdiction, who became known as Postulados (petitioners).
3
The majority of them (88.5%) belonged to the AUC (Ariza and Iturralde, 2016: 416;
Contralor
ıa General de la Rep
ublica, 2016). Many of the paramilitaries already
imprisoned were tagged as common criminals, with no legal recognition of their
status.
4
Slowly but steadily, paramilitary prisoners demanded government recogni-
tion as ex-combatants in order to submit to the special jurisdiction. Thus, being
accepted in this jurisdiction not only implied penal benefits, but also a change of
status – from common prisoners to ex-combatants.
This article seeks to analytically describe the Postulados discourses on prison
experience and their relation with the promise of reintegration. We will discuss
how former combatants’ identities and perspectives are shaped by specific prison
conditions, as well as the consequences of these vis-a
`-vis the fulfilment of transi-
tional justice’s (TJ) general goals of the reintegration of ex-combatants and
peace-building.
We will argue that former combatants incarcerated in facilities lacking minimum
human rights standards, where State authority and legitimacy are weak, and where
the precariousness of rehabilitation and re-entry programmes is manifest, have little
opportunity of peacefully reintegrating into their communities and society. Also,
under such conditions, the risks of reoffending and rejoining illegal armed groups
Ariza and Iturralde 597
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