Carlos Castaño Gil (16 May 1965 – 16 April 2004) was a Colombian paramilitary leader. who was a founder of the Peasant Self-Defenders of Córdoba and Urabá (ACCU), a far-right paramilitary organisation in Colombia and a former member of the Medellin Cartel. Castaño and his brothers Fidel and Vicente founded the ACCU (and its previous incarnations) after their father was kidnapped and killed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), in association with other enemies or victims of the guerrillas. The ACCU later became one of the founding members of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC). First years Carlos Castaño Gil was the youngest son of the family Castaño Gil, a rich landowner who would have been close to the Alianza Americana Anticomunista. Like his brothers, he experienced firsthand the murder of his father. Led by FARC Guerrilla, at 16 years old, he was determined to take up arms against FARC In revenge of his father's murder. He became a member of a self-defense group, which were among the first of their kind. He was introduced to the Medellin Cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar by his brother Fidel, but he was against drugs. Castaño received combat training from his brother, from army officers and members of the paramilitary group as well as from the Israeli mercenary Yair Klein. Of this training came out the order for the extermination against the UP between the 1985-96 The Castaño's paramilitary groups were financed by drug kingpin José Gonzalo Rodriguez Gacha. The friendship between the Castaño brothers and Pablo Escobar broke after the murders of Galeano and Moncada clan (also Castaño's partners) while being detained inside his personal prison "La Catedral". Castaño and his brothers then became founders of the group "Los Pepes" (an acronym for "people persecuted by Pablo Escobar"). During this time Carlos was known by the aliases of "the Phantom" or "the Kid". Contacts between Los Pepes and the Colombian National Police Search Bloc allegedly resulted in Escobar's death. 1 month after the Escobar's death, Fidel Castaño was killed in a battle against the EPL guerrillas. However, it is believed that Carlos may have had a role in Fidel's death in retaliation for the alleged rape and murder (or possible suicide) of Rumalda Castaño, a woman alleged to have been a lover of both brothers. After Fidel's death, Carlos Castaño assumed leadership of AUC, a paramilitary federation. AUC leader In