decade-long war in order to obtain relatively short jail sentences for their crimes as part of a peace settlement. A law limits jail sentences for war crimes committed by AUC members to a maximum of eight years. Murillo Bejarano will be eligible for the limited sentence as long as he confesses his crimes. The limit is a fraction of what AUC members could have faced for known AUC crimes, which include the killings of thousands of civilians. The AUC has always had links to drug traffickers, who, together with cattle ranchers, helped found the group to fight Marxist rebels that government forces were unable to defeat. The government admits that eight years in prison is a light punishment for the crimes of many AUC leaders but argues that a deal is necessary to remove 20,000 heavily armed and well-funded gunmen from an interminable war. Human rights groups point to past links between members of the security forces and the AUC, who cooperated to fight Marxist rebels. While Uribe has talked peace with the paramilitaries, he has stepped up war against the leftist guerrillas.
