Colombia seizes property of paramilitary commander implicated in drug-trafficking
Colombian attorney general's office seized property worth 20 billion Colombian pesos (8 million US dollars) from a paramilitary chief implicated in drug trafficking, said a Judicial police officer Thursday.

The property seized from Francisco Javier Zuluanga, known as "Gordolindo" (fat but pretty), included houses, farms and business premises in seven regions including Valle del Cauca, Antioquia and Cundinamarca, said Oscar Narajo, head of the Investigation Division of the Judicial Police.

However, Zuluanga has not been arrested, as he works as a negotiator in the country's demobilization program with the rebel group of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC).

Zuluanga is the head of the Pacific bloc of the AUC, but Naranjo says he is also closely linked to the Ochoa Vazquez Clan, part of the now defunct Medellin drug smuggling cartel. The United States has requested Zuluanga's extradition on drug-related charges.

Zuluanga's property will be looked after by the National Narcotics Directorate and will be confiscated permanently if it proves that they were obtained with money flowing from drug smuggling.

The AUC, one of three paramilitary groups active in Colombia, was established in the 1980s by drug traffickers and land owners to fight guerrillas in areas where government troops had little control.

The 20,000-strong AUC signed a demobilization agreement with the Colombian government in November 2003, which requires the AUC to stop fighting immediately and demobilize all its members by the end of 2005.