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Colombian Fighters Trying Straight Path

For the last nine years, the only army Juan Morantes belonged to in Colombia was an illegal one -- a paramilitary force that extorted, kidnapped and murdered its way to controlling large swaths of the countryside, according to personal accounts like his and reports by Colombian and foreign human rights groups.

Five months ago, Morantes said, he felt a noose tightening around him. His commander in the militia was shot and killed by a rival paramilitary gang, and he feared he might be next. So he approached a Colombian army colonel he knew and asked him about the government program that offered benefits to outlaws like him if they were willing to give the straight life a try.

In the past three years, 7,960 members of illegal armed groups have joined the demobilization and reintegration program. They include ex-paramilitary fighters like Morantes and former members of anti-government guerrilla groups. The two sides have battled each other for years over land, political allegiances and, more recently, drug profits, killing tens of thousands of fighters and civilians in the process. A law passed this summer is intended to encourage an additional 20,000 paramilitary fighters to surrender by the end of the year, with the promise of reduced jail sentences if they have committed serious crimes.