Colombian general admits responsibility for massacre
A retired Colombian general has admitted responsibility for the killing of more than 100 civilians by soldiers under his command who presented the victims as fallen in action.
General Paulino Coronado stated that although he is guilty of "negligence, I bear this legal responsibility so that the Colombian people will not live again, and will never live again, these hateful moments."
The Colombian general was speaking on the second day of historic sessions before the "Special Judicial Commission for Peace" in the presence of relatives of the victims in the town of Ocaña (north) on the border with Venezuela.
General Coronado, 65, retired since 2008, is the highest-ranking officer of the 10 ex-militaries who have testified since Tuesday and asked for forgiveness for the execution of 120 civilians in Norte de Santander province, where Ocaña is located.
From 2006 until his retirement, the general commanded the 30th Brigade operating in this region, the stronghold of armed groups and major producers of coca.
The Special Tribunal for Peace, the tribunal established under the 2016 peace agreement with Marxist rebels of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), concluded that soldiers from the 15th Infantry Battalion in Occania had killed dozens of civilians presented as fallen rebels. in fights.
It says that about 6,400 civilians were killed in this way "systematically" in a number of regions of the country between 2002 and 2008, in exchange for bonuses, promotions and other material privileges for the army.
So far, only twenty soldiers have admitted responsibility for these crimes, which constitute the biggest scandal in the modern history of the Colombian army, known as "false positives".
In front of the Peace Court judges, Coronado denied Wednesday that he had ordered killings in his area of responsibility, but said he had "not worked seriously" in monitoring his men, and had made clear hours before his appearance in court that this did not absolve him of his responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Which the judiciary accused him in 2021 of committing.
The judges will determine the sentences against the former soldiers within three months after analyzing their testimonies and confronting them with the statements of the victims' families.
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