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Colombian rebel surrenders after manhunt

A right-wing paramilitary leader accused of killing a state congressman surrendered after a four-day, nationwide manhunt by 2,000 police officers, the government said.

President Alvaro Uribe ordered the arrest of Diego Fernando Murillo this week, throwing peace negotiations with the paramilitary groups into turmoil.

Other paramilitary leaders said before Murillo's arrest Friday the talks would continue without him.

RCN television showed footage of Murillo walking with government Peace Commissioner Luis Carlos Restrepo.

There were more than a dozen armed police officers surrounding Diego Murillo, a leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia, or AUC, but he was not handcuffed.

"He turned himself in due to the pressure bearing down on him from the police search," said National Police Sergeant Jamat Guapacho.

Accused of murder

Murillo, who is also known by the name of Don Berna, is accused in the April 10 kidnapping and killing of Cordoba state lawmaker Orlando Benitez, his sister and an aide.

He commands some 4,000 armed fighters of the AUC, a loose federation of several regional paramilitary groups created decades ago to attack leftist guerrillas.

Officials say Murillo is also a major drug trafficker and the US has asked for his extradition.

A statement from the office of the peace commissioner following his arrest said Murillo had agreed to order the demobilization of all the men under his command.

Following Uribe's warrant issued for Murillo's arrest on Tuesday, hundreds of police began scouring various parts of the country for the AUC leader.

During the hunt, police raided his house in Medellin and arrested dozens of his subordinates.

Murillo's surrender comes just days before Colombian legislators are expected pass a key amnesty bill after two years of peace talks.

AUC spokesman Ernesto Baez said earlier Friday that Murillo's absence from the talks would substantially weaken any peace deal.

Suspended from talks

But when Uribe ordered his arrest, he said Murillo would be "suspended" from the talks, an indication that if he is cleared of the murder accusation, he could then return to the negotiating table.

Since talks between the government and the AUC began in 2003, 4,800 fighters have voluntarily disarmed.

The rest of the fighters are waiting for Congress to pass the bill -- expected in June -- that would define the type of amnesty demobilizing fighters would receive.

The bill is likely to send those accused of atrocities to jail for up to eight years, while the majority would be granted a pardon.

Money from trafficking

Human rights groups and the international community have criticized the plan, saying that apart from short or no prison sentences, the groups would have no obligation to return the millions of dollars they have earned in drug trafficking.

A peace deal negotiated with the AUC is expected to reduce the intensity of Colombia's war.

But the conflict would be far from over because the country's leftist rebel groups have not agreed on peace talks with the government.
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