Yair Klein

Yair Klein
יאיר קליין
Born
Israel
NationalityIsraeli
OccupationArms dealer
OrganizationSpearhead Ltd
Known forMercenary company

Yair Klein (Hebrew: יאיר קליין; also known as Jair Klein) is a former lieutenant colonel in the Israeli army, who established a private mercenary company called Spearhead Ltd. Through Spearhead Ltd, Klein provided arms and training to armed forces in South America, Lebanon, and Sierra Leone.[1][2] Klein and his company were accused of training the death squads of drug traffickers and right-wing militias in Colombia in the 1980s.[3]

He was convicted by judicial authorities in Colombia for training several members of Colombian paramilitary groups and the militias of drug traffickers, including Gonzalo Rodríguez Gacha and Pablo Escobar Gaviria. The Colombian government made unsuccessful attempts to obtain his extradition from Israel. In a 2007 interview with Caracol TV, Klein claimed that he was sent to Colombia by request of the National Police in order to train its members, and stated that he was willing to go back and help destroy the FARC guerrillas. He also criticized the demobilization of the paramilitaries, saying it was "stupid" to do so while the guerrillas remained a threat.[4]

  1. ^ Democracy Now!, Who Is Israel's Yair Klein and What Was He Doing in Colombia and Sierra Leone?, 1 June 2000.
  2. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ BBC, "Colombia Seeks Israeli terrorist", BBC Online 29 August 2007
  4. ^ "Yet another premature baby, Yair Klein, García Márquez [video]". 7 March 2007.