When they were under 14, they said, they were taken to Mr. Giraldo for conjugal visits, both in a special detention zone for paramilitary members and later in a jail. If proved, the allegations would be grounds to deny Mr. Giraldo the eight-year alternative sentence he would get under Justice and Peace. He would face spending the rest of his life in a Colombian prison — if the United States sent him back. It took almost eight years for the United States to recognize them as victims of standing in Mr. Giraldo’s American case. They argued that even though Mr. Henríquez was a foreign victim of a foreign crime, his murder was a consequence of the drug conspiracy to which Mr. Giraldo pleaded guilty.

Source: New York Times September 10, 2016 14:03 UTC