Manuel Uribe, a former mechanic, entered the Guinness Book of Records as the world's heaviest man when he weighed 560kg - the weight of a small truck.

BBC: Heaviest man holds big wedding

The government of Juan Manuel Santos, who replaced Mr Uribe last August, sees these outfits as the biggest security threat it faces.

ECONOMIST: Security in Colombia

The defence minister, Juan Manuel Santos, one of Mr Uribe's most loyal lieutenants and a possible candidate to succeed him if, that is, Mr Uribe decides not to seek a third consecutive term in 2010 was in Washington for meetings with members of President Barack Obama's cabinet when the scandal broke back home.

ECONOMIST: Colombia

His successor, Juan Manuel Santos, has promised to continue Mr Uribe's tough security policy.

BBC: Aerial attack kills 13 Farc rebels in Colombia

This week, in what looked like retaliation, Salvatore Mancuso, the top warlord, claimed that Francisco Santos, Mr Uribe's vice-president, and Juan Manuel Santos, his defence minister, had both incited paramilitary actions during the 1990s.

ECONOMIST: Colombia

Juan Manuel Santos, a former defence minister, and two other close allies of Mr Uribe have been poised for weeks to declare their candidacies, but only if that does not mean competing with the boss.

ECONOMIST: But the courts could still block it

Colombian President Alvaro Uribe hands over power to his successor and his former defence minister, Juan Manuel Santos, in less than three weeks.

BBC: Colombia accuses Venezuela of harbouring rebel groups