Álvaro Araújo Castro

A Liberal politician, leader of the ALAS-Team Colombia political movement, and founder of Alternative for Social Advance (ALAS); he was arrested and jailed in 2007 for participating in parapolitics.

The Department of Cesar was divided into two zones, the G-8, formed by 8 municipalities in central Cesar Department where revenues from mining industry are high, and in which Senator Mauricio Pimiento and Representative Jorge Enrique Ramírez got most of their votes, and the G-11, formed mostly by southern municipalities where Representative Miguel Duran Gelvis and Senator Araújo had a high turnout.

He was also a proponent of equal ownership rights for gay couples,[4] and integrating demobilized members of the Cacique Nutibara Bloc into the Armed Forces of Colombia if they met certain judicial requisites.

[5] The Supreme Court of Colombia investigated the accusations in what became known as the Parapolitics scandal, as a result, on 16 February 2007, Araújo was arrested along with other senators for having ties to illegal paramilitary groups.

[6] Arising from his investigation in parapolitics, Araújo was also formally accused of the kidnapping and extortion of former Mayor of Valledupar, Elías Ochoa Daza's brother Víctor.