- Vicente Castaño
Infobox Military Person
name=Vicente Castaño Gil
lived=
caption=
nickname="El Profe"
placeofbirth=Amalfi, Antioquia
COL
placeofdeath= unknown
allegiance=United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC)
Paramilitarism
Narcotrafficking
branch=
serviceyears=
rank= Bloc commander and United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia leader
unit=Peasant Self-Defense Forces of Cordoba and Uraba
commands=
battles=
awards=
relations=
laterwork=José Vicente Castaño aka El Profe (Born
July 2 ,1957 in Amalfi, Antioquia) is aColombia n paramilitary former leader of theUnited Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a right-wing Colombian paramilitary organization. After demobilizing he was accused of murdering his brother and former AUC leaderCarlos Castaño and for his role in narcotics trafficking by both theColombia n government and the government of theUnited States . InAugust 2004 , the United States formally requested his extradition to the United States. Castaño remains, however, a fugitive and is the presumed chief of the 2006 created criminal organization "Águilas Negras " made up of former AUC paramilitary members. [http://www.elpais.com.co/paisonline/notas/Agosto152007/castaguilas.html es icon Vicente Castaño would be behind 'Águilas Negras'] El Pais Accessed 20 August 2007.]Biography
Early life
Castaño was born July 2, 1957 in Amalfi, a small village in the Antioquia Department in central Colombia. He was the sixth among twelve siblings of a family of farmers. When he was 12 years old he dropped out from school to help his father on farming duties. At the age of 18 years old he left the village and went to neighboring
Venezuela where he also worked on farming for two years. Back in Colombia, Castaño worked with his brother Fidel in many businesses including a pub,gold exchange inSegovia, Antioquia , and farming. They later moved toMedellín where they inccured in the lottery business.Father's death
Castaño's father died on
September 18 ,1981 at the hands of theFARC-EP , a leftist rebel organization. The FARC had kidnapped the elder Castaño and demanded a ransom of 150 million pesos. Fact|date=March 2008Family
Vicente Castaño is the brother of
Fidel Castaño , a leader ofLos Pepes and the founder ofPeasant Self-Defense Forces of Córdoba and Urabá and Carlos Castaño, who led the AUC until his death. Vicente has been accused of ordering Carlos' death.References
External links
* [http://www.semana.com/wf_InfoArticulo.aspx?IdArt=87629 Semana.com - ¿Quién es Vicente Castaño?]
* [http://www.fac.mil.co/index.php?idcategoria=13796&PHPSESSID=67bc89b67fbff609069aee1db Colombian Air Force - Attorney will investigate Jose Vicente Castaño for the death of his brother Carlos]
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