Bill Aims to Lure Warlords to Disarm

Congress passed a bill reducing punishments for right-wing warlords who disarm, a key step in President Alvaro Uribe’s strategy to wind down Colombia’s decades-long civil war. But opponents said it would let killers off the hook.

The legislation demands that paramilitary leaders confess their crimes, return stolen goods and compensate victims. In exchange, prison terms are limited to eight years.

Uribe was expected to enact the legislation this week.

Passage came after the president toughened the proposal under pressure from rights groups and U.S. lawmakers who warned that it originally had been too lenient on leaders of the far-right paramilitaries.

Opponents still fear that the bill will leave the paramilitaries’ drug trafficking empire untouched and won’t bring about national reconciliation.