N.Y. Lawyer Pleads Guilty for Dealing Guns to Paramilitaries for Cocaine

Canton is to be sentenced on Jan. 8; he faces a minimum of 11 years in prison and fines of up to $8 million. As part of the plea arrangement, Canton's lawyer has promised not to appeal if the sentence does not exceed 18 years.

Working with Castaño

The indictment says Canton met with AUC leader Carlos Castano and other AUC members in Colombia in July 2001 to work out an agreement to supply AK-47 and M-16 assault rifles and hand grenades via a distributor in Honduras. The weapons were to be partially paid for from the sale of cocaine in the US. A spokesperson for the US Attorney's Office said it doesn't appear the contract was ever carried out. Canton's guilty plea comes a week after Attorney General John Ashcroft unsealed indictments against Castano and two other AUC members on drug charges. The AUC was added to the State Department's "Foreign Terrorist Organization" list in September 2001. [New York Post 10/3/02; AP 10/2/02] From the Weekly News Update on the Americas (ISSN 1084-922X), published by the Nicaragua Solidarity Network of Greater New York, 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012, 212-674-9499, wnu@igc.org.