Yair Klein
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Yair Klein (also known as Jair Klein) is an Israeli ex military and mercenary, who established a private mercenary company called Spearhead Ltd.
Through Spearhead Ltd, Klein provided arms and training to armed forces in South America.[1]
Klein was accused of training several members of Colombian paramilitary groups and the militias of drug traffickers such as Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha and Pablo Escobar Gaviria during the 1980s.
Klein was convicted in 2002 by a Colombian court, and the Colombian government has made unsuccessful attempts to obtain his extradition from Israel. In a 2007 interview, Klein claims that he was brought to the country by the police in order to train its members, and stated he would like to be back in order to aid destroying the FARC guerrillas.
He also criticized the demobilization of the paramilitaries, saying it was “stupid” to do so while the guerrillas remained a threat. [2]
Yair Klein spent 16 months Sierra Leone prison between 1999 and 2000 on charges that he was smuggling arms to rebels from the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Democracy Now!, Who Is Israel's Yair Klein and What Was He Doing in Colombia and Sierra Leone?, June 1, 2000.
- ^ Yet another premature baby, Yair Klein, García Márquez (video)
[edit] External links
- Silvia B Cucovaz, The role of the "Grey Market" in the context of arms trafficking, UN Department of Disarmament Affairs
- Democracy Now, Who Is Israel's Yair Klein and What Was He Doing in Colombia and Sierra Leone?, June 1, 2000.
- James Rupert, Diamond Hunters Fuel Africa’s Brutal Wars, The Washington Post, October 16, 1999
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