Ex-Colombian general gets 13 years in bribe scheme
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A former top Colombian police general has been sentenced to 13 years in prison in the U.S. for taking bribes from a right-wing paramilitary group that the U.S. considers a terrorist organization.
Mauricio Santoyo Velasco was sentenced Friday in federal court in Virginia after pleading guilty earlier this year. The former general admitted he provided material support to the far-right United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The group is believed to engage in drug trafficking, assassinations and kidnappings.
The plea deal had limited Santoyo's potential sentence to 10 to 15 years.
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Santoyo had been the head of security for Colombia's then-President Alvaro Uribe, and at one point Santoyo led an anti-terrorist group. Santoyo's lawyers argued he was motivated in part by a desire to stamp out leftist rebel groups.