Colombia Transfers Imprisoned Warlords

Colombia's special forces patrol outside of former holiday camp La Ceja, Colombia, Friday, Dec. 1, 2006. Citing fears of an escape plot by some of Colombia's most dangerous men, the government moved Friday to a maximum security prison 59 paramilitary warlords who demobilized under a peace pact. (AP Photo/Luis Benavides) (Luis Benavides - AP)

BOGOTA, Colombia -- Escorted by 500 armed soldiers and Black Hawk helicopters buzzing overhead, Colombia's government on Friday transferred 59 paramilitary warlords from a former holiday camp to a maximum-security prison. The government said it feared an escape plot.

The move to Itagui prison _ home to some of Colombia's most hardened criminals _ is likely to come as a shock to the right-wing commanders, who for the past few months have enjoyed private televisions, special meals and other privileges unfound in any of Colombia's violence-ridden jails.

The drug-funded paramilitary militias are accused of some of the worst atrocities in the Andean nation's long-running civil conflict and are listed as foreign terrorist organization by the United States.

"The security measures (at La Ceja) are minimal and there has been a persistent rumor of an escape, and we have to avoid this at any price," said Interior Minister Carlos Holgun.

President Alvaro Uribe in recent days accused the paramilitary commanders of ordering assassinations from the former holiday camp.

The paramilitary leaders have angrily denied they were plotting to escape.

Their transfer to a regular prison is likely be applauded by the United Nations and foreign governments, who have accused the government of being too soft on the warlords in the face of mounting evidence they've been flaunting the terms of their 2003 peace deal.

As part of a negotiated deal with the government, the leaders had been held at La Ceja, a former retreat center reminiscent to many Colombians of the country club-like jail where drug kingpin Pablo Escobar was incarcerated in 1991.

Escobar was killed during a shootout with police in 1993 after having escaped from the custom-built jail.

Uribe's decision to send the leaders to the Itagui prison comes as he's been struggling to insulate himself from a widening scandal over which several of his allies in Congress stand accused of conspiring with the same militias.

As the number of his allies hauled to testify before the Supreme Court increases almost daily _ so far three pro-government lawmakers have been arrested and at least seven more are under investigation _ Uribe has taken a hardened stance against the paramilitaries.

In a speech Thursday, the conservative leader and key U.S. ally in the region blamed the killings of two demobilized commanders on those in La Ceja. He also threatened to revoke the benefits they enjoy under the peace process, including suspension of their extradition to the United States to answer drug trafficking charges.