"War profiteers" undermine reintegration of ex-combatants

Work has been somewhat slow the past few days, however I have had a chance to do some research on "Pablo Sevillano" an ex-paramilitary commander that has agreed to disarm, demobilize, reintegrate into civilian life. In exchange for a lighter prison sentence, this ex-paramilitary and notorious druglord must publicly confess to his crimes. Today he is confessing to crimes that include systematic murders, intimidatation, extortion, and vast ties to the narcotics industry, including the Tijuana Cartel in Mexico.

DDR in Colombia
The demobilization and disarmament of paramilitaries and guerrillas are part of a larger process known as DDR (disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration). Disarmament focuses on the collection of weapons whereas demobilization involves the dismantling of military units and transition of ex-combatants from military to civilian life. Reintegration involves the sustainable reinsertion of ex-combatants into civilian life and is arguably the most difficult step. Reintegration is also considered to key to the prevention of new conflicts.

Colombia has gone through many DDR processes over the past 40 years, however none have been able to successfully create durable peace. For my thesis, I would like to research why these efforts have failed and specifically, I would like to understand ways in which illicit "war profiteers" (smugglers, traffickers, dealers, and others) derail the DDR process. My hypothesis is that "war profiteers" engaged in the trade of weapons, drugs, humans, gems, counterfeit money, fake passports, and pirated software, and etc., effectively sidetrack the reintegration of ex-combatants by luring them into these transnational criminal activities. They exploit ex-combatants' extensive military knowledge, unique access to shipping routes, and pre-existing relationships with il/licit businesses dealing in "questionable" goods and promise far greater profits than "normal" civilian life, making the reintegration of former guerillas and paramilitaries all the more difficult.