Rodrigo Zapata: Former paramilitary, close to Vicente Castaño, serving time in Itagüí prison.
Iván Velásquez: Chief prosecutor for Antioquia and other states in the late 1990s, and later assistant justice on the Colombian Supreme Court and lead investigator in the parapolitics cases.
María Victoria Velásquez: Iván Velásquez’s wife, also a lawyer, from Medellín.
Catalina Velásquez: Iván and María Victoria’s eldest child.
Laura Velásquez: Iván and María Victoria’s youngest child.
Víctor Velásquez: Iván and María Victoria’s second child.
Jesús María Valle: A prominent human rights activist in Medellín, a member of the Permanent Human Rights Committee of Antioquia, and a councilman from Ituango, who was reporting collusion between paramilitaries and the military in Ituango in 1996 and 1997.
Magdalena Valle: One of Jesús María Valle’s sisters.
Nelly Valle: Jesús María Valle’s sister and receptionist.
María Victoria Fallon: A friend of Jesús María Valle, a fellow member of the Permanent Human Rights Committee of Antioquia, and a lawyer representing survivors from the El Aro massacre in a suit before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Patricia Fuenmayor: A friend of Jesús María Valle and a fellow member of the Permanent Human Rights Committee of Antioquia.
Beatriz Jaramillo: A friend of Jesús María Valle and fellow member of the Permanent Human Rights Committee of Antioquia.
Gloria Manco: A close friend and colleague of Jesús María Valle.
Pedro Antonio Marín (aka “Manuel Marulanda” or “Tirofijo”): The FARC’s most senior commander.
Amparo Areiza: Daughter of shopkeeper Marco Aurelio Areiza, who was murdered in the El Aro massacre; a contact of Jesús María Valle.
Miladis Torres: A survivor of the El Aro massacre in Ituango, Antioquia, in 1997.
Wilmar Torres: Miladis’s little brother.
Álvaro Uribe: Governor of Antioquia (1995–1997); president of Colombia (2002–2010); senator in Colombia (since 2013).
Pedro Juan Moreno: Chief of staff to Álvaro Uribe in the Antioquia governor’s office.
General Alfonso Manosalva: Commander of the Fourth Brigade of the Colombian Army until his death in April 1997.
General Carlos Alberto Ospina: Commander of the Fourth Brigade of the Colombian Army after Manosalva’s death. He went on to become commander of Colombia’s armed forces from 2004 to 2007.
Diego Arcila: Investigator and wiretapping expert at the Antioquia CTI in the late 1990s.
J. Guillermo Escobar: A mentor to Iván Velásquez, friend to both Velásquez and Valle, and prosecutor working for Velásquez when the latter served as chief prosecutor in Antioquia in the late 1990s.
Jorge Fernández: Deputy to Gregorio Oviedo at the Antioquia CTI in 1998.
Pablo Elías González: Head of the national CTI in Colombia in the late 1990s.
Alfonso Gómez Méndez: Attorney general of Colombia in 1997–2001.
Gregorio Oviedo: Head of the CTI of Antioquia, working closely with Iván Velásquez, in 1997–1998. Led raid on Padilla parking lot. Married to Amelia Pérez.
Amelia Pérez: Prosecutor in the Human Rights Unit of Colombia’s attorney general’s office in the late 1990s. Married to Gregorio Oviedo.
Javier Tamayo: Prosecutor working in Velásquez’s office in the late 1990s.
Diego Murillo Bejarano (aka “Don Berna” or “El Ñato”): Longtime drug trafficker, former associate of Pablo Escobar and member of Los Pepes, head of the Envigado Office, and eventually member of the AUC leadership.
Carlos Castaño: Commander of the ACCU in the late 1990s, and then of the AUC. Former member of Los Pepes.
Jacinto Alberto Soto (aka “Lucas”): Paramilitary detained during the Padilla parking-lot raid. Later found to be the main accountant for Carlos Castaño.
Gustavo Upegui: Businessman believed by investigators to be a leader of the Envigado Office.
Pablo Escobar: Colombia’s most famous drug lord, head of the Medellín cartel in the 1980s, responsible for high-profile killings and bombings through the early 1990s. Killed in 1993.
Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha (aka “El Mexicano” or “The Mexican”): A member of the Medellín cartel.
Jorge Luis, Fabio, and Juan David Ochoa: Brothers from Antioquia who became members of the Medellín cartel. Their father, also Fabio, was known for raising horses.
Ricardo Calderón: Investigative journalist for Semana magazine.
Mónica: Ricardo Calderón’s wife (pseudonym).
Vicente Castaño: A senior AUC commander. Carlos’s brother.
Luis Eduardo Cifuentes (aka “El Águila” or “The Eagle”): AUC leader in the region of Cundinamarca, where Bogotá is located.
Iván Roberto Duque (aka “Ernesto Báez”): A senior commander of the AUC.
Edwin Guzmán: Former paramilitary in the United States who made allegations against Iván Velásquez in 2007.
Carlos Mario Jiménez (aka “Macaco”): Commander of the Central Bolívar Block of the AUC.
Antonio López (aka “Job”): Demobilized paramilitary, senior leader of the Democracy Corporation of Medellín, and close adviser to Don Berna.
Salvatore Mancuso: A senior commander of the AUC; involved in the El Aro massacre.
José Orlando Moncada (aka “Tasmania”): Former paramilitary serving time in prison. In 2007 he became the subject of a scandal after a letter he had supposedly sent to President Uribe was made public. In the letter, Tasmania accused Iván Velásquez, the Supreme Court assistant justice, of trying to get him to implicate Uribe in a murder attempt.
Rodrigo Mercado Peluffo (aka “Cadena” or “Chain”): A midlevel AUC commander who operated in Sucre.
Rodrigo Tovar Pupo (aka “Jorge 40”): Senior commander of the Northern Block of the AUC from Valledupar, Cesar.
César Gaviria: President of Colombia from 1990 to 1994, later secretary-general of the Organization of American States.
Andrés Pastrana: President of Colombia from 1998 to 2002.
Ernesto Samper: President of Colombia from 1994 to 1998.
José Obdulio Gaviria: Adviser to Álvaro Uribe since the 1980s.
Mario Iguarán: Attorney general of Colombia from 2005 to 2009.
Álvaro Araújo: Senator from Cesar; brother of Foreign Minister María Consuelo Araújo; investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Rocío Arias: Representative from Antioquia; investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Muriel Benito: Representative from Sucre; among the first investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Miguel de la Espriella: Senator from Córdoba; investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Álvaro García: Senator from Sucre; among the first investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Yidis Medina: Representative from Santander. Her allegations about why she voted for a bill allowing President Uribe to run for a second term led to a scandal in 2008.
Jairo Merlano: Senator from Sucre; among the first investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Eric Morris: Representative from Sucre; among the first investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Gustavo Petro: Senator from Cundinamarca; former member of the M-19 guerrilla group. In 2007 he led a congressional hearing about paramilitary activity in Antioquia.
Mauricio Pimiento: Senator and former governor of Cesar; investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Eleonora Pineda: Representative from Córdoba; investigated in the parapolitics cases.
Mario Uribe: Senator from Antioquia; second cousin and close political ally of President Álvaro Uribe; investigated in the parapolitics cases.
María del Rosario González: Justice in the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court.
Álvaro Pérez: Justice in the Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court. Velásquez worked directly for him until becoming the coordinator of the parapolitics investigations.
César Julio Valencia: President of the Colombian Supreme Court from 2007 to 2008.
José Miguel Narváez: Deputy director of the DAS during Noguera’s directorship.
Jorge Noguera: Director of the DAS from 2002 to 2005. Investigated for conspiracy and other offenses related to paramilitary groups.
Jairo Castillo Peralta (aka “Pitirri”): Former paramilitary who became a protected witness against paramilitaries and politicians in Sucre. He eventually fled to Canada. He became a witness in the Supreme Court’s parapolitics investigations.
Rafael García: Former IT director for the DAS under Noguera; convicted of various offenses. Provided extensive statements about ties between senior DAS officials and paramilitaries and criminal activity within the DAS.
Claudia López: Political analyst whose work on voting patterns in the regions where paramilitary violence had been most acute fed into the parapolitics investigations.
Juan Carlos Sierra (aka “El Tuso”): Colombian drug lord who managed to join the paramilitary demobilization process and was later extradited to the United States.
Ferney Suaza: Demobilized paramilitary close to Job, who claimed that someone was trying to bribe him to accuse President Uribe of criminal activity.
Alba Luz Flórez: DAS detective who became known as the “Mata Hari of the DAS” due to her role in spying on the Supreme Court.
María del Pilar Hurtado: Director of the DAS in 2007 and 2008.
Jorge Lagos: Director of counterintelligence in the DAS at the time of the 2009 surveillance scandal.
Martha Leal: Deputy operations director of the DAS during the Tasmania and Job scandals of 2007 and 2008.
Felipe Muñoz: Director of the DAS in 2009.
Fernando Tabares: Director of intelligence in the DAS at the time of the 2009 surveillance scandal.
Bernardo Moreno: Chief of staff to President Uribe.
General Óscar Naranjo: Chief of the National Police of Colombia from 2007 to 2012; vice president of Colombia since March 2017.
Juan Manuel Santos: Minister of defense of Colombia in 2006 to 2009, in the Uribe administration; president of Colombia since 2010.
General Mauricio Santoyo: Security chief for President Uribe.
Diego Álvarez: Lawyer for Don Berna.
Henry Anaya: A lawyer who was recorded on video talking to Diego Álvarez and appearing to hold himself out as close to the Supreme Court.
Sergio González: Lawyer for El Tuso and Tasmania.