In an unprecedented acknowledgment in front of the families of victims, ten retired soldiers publicly acknowledged on Tuesday April 26 their responsibility for the execution of more than one hundred civilians in 2007 and 2008 in Colombia, misrepresented by the army as killed guerrillas. in combat.

These confessions took place during a historic hearing organized by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in the very region of the massacre, in the department of Norte de Santander (north), bordering Venezuela.

A general, four colonels, five soldiers, all retired, and a civilian admitted their participation in the cold-blooded kidnappings and murders of 120 young people in the town of Ocaña (100,000 inhabitants) to then present them as members of the left-wing guerrillas operating in the area.

On Tuesday, around fifty relatives of the victims took their places in the Ocaña university theater for this two-day hearing where the former soldiers are called upon to "explain themselves clearly, answer questions and above all recognize their responsibility live, in the face of the victims and the country," according to Judge Catalina Diaz.

"False Positives"

This public hearing in the form of catharsis is a major step in bringing to light by the JEP, a special tribunal resulting from the historic peace agreement signed in 2016 with the Marxist guerrillas of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), of the largest scandal in the recent history of the Colombian army, known as "false positives".

Often in tears, the wives, mothers and sisters of the victims faced the ex-servicemen, including Brigadier General Paulino Coronado, the highest ranking officer to appear.

"After years of silence and fear, the hour of truth has finally come to end decades of impunity," explained the JEP in a video shown before the court composed of five magistrates.

"I recognize and accept my responsibility as a co-author of these war crimes," said ex-corporal Nestor Gutierrez, the first of the soldiers to speak.

"We murdered innocent people (...) I want to emphasize it: those we murdered were simple peasants", he admitted, referring to "the pressure from the high command" and its "demands for results". .

"Good people"

Another accused, Colonel Rubén Castro admitted the existence of a "criminal band" among his men "created for the sole purpose of increasing" the losses.

He asked forgiveness for demanding the killing of "good people".

The defendants alternately specified the circumstances in which they murdered these men, mostly between the ages of 25 and 35, kidnapped peasants or young people deceived by promises of work.

They were then executed on a farm near or around the Ocaña barracks.

A practice motivated by an "institutional policy of the army consisting in counting the bodies" to inflate its results in the fight against the guerrillas, castigated Judge Diaz who presides over the hearing.

In exchange, the soldiers received bonuses, permissions, promotions and medals, explained the magistrate.

"I ask you to rehabilitate the names of our relatives (...). They were peasants who worked honestly, not criminals or guerrillas", said Eduvina Becerra, companion of one of the murdered farmers.

"The army deceived us, they killed our brothers, our sons", denounced Sandra Barbosa, sister of another victim.

According to the JEP, some 6,400 civilians were executed between 2002 and 2008 in the country in exchange for material benefits for the military.

To date, about twenty of them have admitted their responsibility for these crimes.

The military high command and the right-wing ex-president Alvaro Uribe (2002-2008), then at the head of the country, have always denied systematic action, speaking of "isolated cases".

With AFP

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