Rodrigo Tovar Pupo

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Rodrigo Tovar Pupo, (aka Jorge 40 his nom de guerre) was born in Valledupar, Colombia. He was the leader of the northern block of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. He demobilized with his two thousand men strong group on March 10, 2006 in La Mesa, Department of Cesar.

A laptop computer belonging to Tovar contained information on over 550 murders and started the 2006 Para-political scandal in which several congressmen have been indicted for corruption.^[1]

From cattle owner and farmer, member of Fenalce and Fedearroz and a public official, pass to comamnd 4500 men of the Northern block that dominate the territories of Cesar, La Guajira, Magdalena, Atlantico and part of both Santander and Norte de Santander Departments.

"Only listen his name produce in us fear", said a member of the Kankuamos, a native community from the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta who accused him of the assassination of more than 100 of their members.

Also is accused to indirectly dominate the extorsion against the Aseguradoras del Régimen Subsidiado de Salud (ARS) (spanish for Health Subsidized Regime Insurance) on many municipalities in the Caribbean Region and manage the net of narcotraffickers that operates in the eastern zone of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and La Guajira. Due to this the United States Government has asked for his extradition in order to processes him by their justice.

Jorge 40 was indicted for ordering the massacre of over 60 natives from the ethnics Wayuu and Wiwa in La Guajira and Magdalena executed by the northern block on 2004. He also has ties to the death of 21 people in the municipality of Aracataca (Magdalena).

The Organization of American States (OAS) denounced that Jorge 40's paramilitaries colluded with local government forces in order to kill eight people in Curumani, Cesar, accusing them to be informants of the ELN guerrilla. The massacre occurred between December 4 and December 5, 2005. ^[2]