Thousands of ex-paramilitaries active in Colombia - study

More than 10,000 demobilized paramilitary fighters are currently active in gangs working for Colombian drug lords, according to a study out Monday. The gangs operate in about a quarter of Colombia, said a report by the Nuevo Arco Iris, or New Rainbow, nonprofit group. Gang members are made up of mostly former right-wing paramilitary fighters with the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, which formed in the 1980s to fight leftist guerrillas. The AUC demobilized in 2006 and disarmed its 32,000 members as part of the peace process with the government of President Alvaro Uribe. AUC-linked violence killed thousands of Colombians over the years, and the group was involved in a series of grisly crimes. Government officials say the gangs are made up of mere "criminals" linked to drug trafficking. However just like the AUC, the gangs assert local control by force and infiltrate public services, the report says. And according to the report, the gangs also "exert and political control with varying strength." About a hundred gangs are spread throughout 246 of Colombia's 1,100 cities, sometimes with help from the army and local authorities, the report said.