Demobilization of the AUC paramilitaries (2003–2006)
Under President Álvaro Uribe, the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a national paramilitary umbrella group, negotiated a demobilization with the government. Over 30,000 fighters turned in weapons, but many mid-level commanders and their networks never fully surrendered, leaving criminal structures in place.
Homicide rates dropped in many urban centers, but the paramilitary structure fractured into successor groups that retained control over drug trafficking routes and extortion rackets.
Groups like the ACSN, which claim paramilitary lineage through the AUC, are direct legacies of this incomplete demobilization. They operate as localized mafias rather than a unified political army.
The ACSN is one of the groups that inherited the AUC's territory and illicit economies after demobilization. Understanding its structure helps explain why killing its leaders has not dissolved the organization in the past two decades.