A former top Colombian police general has been sentenced to 13
years in prison in the U.S. for taking bribes from a right-wing
paramilitary group that the U.S. considers a terrorist
organization.  Mauricio Santoyo Velasco was sentenced Friday in
federal court in Virginia after pleading guilty earlier this
year. The former general admitted he provided material support
to the far-right United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia. The
group is believed to engage in drug trafficking, assassinations
and kidnappings.  The plea deal had limited Santoyo's potential
sentence to 10 to 15 years.  Santoyo had been the head of
security for Colombia's then-President Alvaro Uribe, and at one
point Santoyo led an anti-terrorist group. Santoyo's lawyers
argued he was motivated in part by a desire to stamp out leftist
rebel groups.