Luis Carlos Restrepo Ramírez (born 24 January 1954) is a Colombian psychiatrist and philosopher, who served as the 5th High Commissioner for Peace of Colombia from August 2002 to March 2009. While in Office, he was in charge of the controversial demobilization and disarmament of 32,000 paramilitaries of the

United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia The United Self-Defences of Colombia (''Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia'', or AUC, in Spanish) was a Colombian far-right paramilitary and drug trafficking group which was an active belligerent in the Colombian armed conflict during the period ...

and 13,000 guerrilla fighters. For some time, the

Government of Colombia The Government of Colombia is a republic with separation of powers into executive, judicial and legislative branches. Its legislature has a congress, its judiciary has a supreme court, and its executive branch has a president. The citiz ...

considered him a

fugitive A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...

, after the

Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia The Supreme Court of Justice of Colombia ( es, Corte Suprema de Justicia de Colombia) in Bogotá is the highest judicial body in civil and penal matters and issues of criminal and civil procedure in Colombia. The Supreme Court of Colombia is th ...

issued an international arrest warrant after Restrepo left the country on 8 January 2012 on a flight bound to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

; his current whereabouts remain unknown, but he is presumed to have obtained

political asylum The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another ent ...

in Canada. Restrepo, who was accused of faking the demobilization of a

FARC The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army ( es, link=no, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de ColombiaEjército del Pueblo, FARC–EP or FARC) is a Marxist–Leninist guerrilla group involved in the continuing Colombian confl ...

military unit in 2006, is charged by the

Office of the Attorney General of Colombia The Office of the Attorney General of Colombia ( es, Fiscalía General de la Nación; literally "General Prosecutorial Office of the Nation") is the Colombian institution part of the Colombian judicial branch of Government with administrative a ...

with conspiracy to commit crime; embezzlement; and arms

possession Possession may refer to: Law * Dependent territory, an area of land over which another country exercises sovereignty, but which does not have the full right of participation in that country's governance * Drug possession, a crime * Ownership * ...

trafficking Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

, and manufacturing. Restrepo, who was one of the closest allies of the President

Álvaro Uribe Vélez Álvaro (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname (see Spanish naming customs) of Visigothic origin. Some claim it may be related to the Old Norse name Alfarr, formed of the elements ''alf'' "elf" and ''arr'' "warrio ...

, has denied the allegations made against him, and accused the Administration of President

Juan Manuel Santos Calderón Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade ...

of mounting a

political persecution Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

against him; in this he receives the backing and support of former President Uribe. However, on September 23, 2013, Colombia's Prosecutor General dropped the arrest warrant against Restrepo. From his exile, Restrepo has shown support for the current Peace talks of President

Juan Manuel Santos Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize. An economist by profession and a journalist by trade ...

with

rebels.

Personal life

Luis Carlos was born on 24 January 1954 in Filandia,

Caldas Department Caldas () is a department of Colombia named after Colombian patriotic figure Francisco José de Caldas. It is part of the Paisa Region and its capital is Manizales. The population of Caldas is 998,255, and its area is 7,291 km². Caldas i ...

to Carlos E. Restrepo Ramírez and Soledad Ramírez Ospina.

Works

* * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Restrepo Ramirez, Luis Carlos 1954 births Living people People from Quindío Department National University of Colombia alumni Pontifical Xavierian University alumni Colombian psychiatrists Colombian philosophers Colombian male writers Peace Commissioners of Colombia Fugitives wanted by Colombia Fugitives wanted on arms smuggling charges Fugitives wanted on fraud charges Restrepo family