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LatinNews Daily - 13 December 2021

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COLOMBIA: Officers admit to guilt in ‘false positive’ cases

On 10 December, Colombia’s transitional justice court (JEP) said that 21 military officers and one civilian had admitted responsibility for the murder of 247 victims as part of its investigation into the extrajudicial killings known as ‘false positives’.

Analysis:

News of the admissions was hailed as a sign of the effectiveness of the JEP, which was set up as part of the 2016 peace agreement between the government and the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc) guerrilla group. As part of its work the JEP has been investigating so-called false positives, the killing of innocent civilians by the army, which then passed them off as Farc rebels supposedly killed in action, to give the impression of military success. The JEP is investigating 6,402 false positives said to have occurred between 2002 and 2008.

  • The admissions of guilt refer to the murder by army units of 120 victims in the Catatumbo region and a further 127 deaths and ‘disappearances’ in Valledupar municipality, capital of César department.
  • Among the 22 individuals who admitted responsibility was the most senior officer to date to have done so, General (retired) Paulino Coronado.
  • Two colonels denied any involvement and their fate now rests with a prosecution unit which is expected to place them on trial. If found guilty they face up to 20 years in prison.
  • Under its rules, for those who admit guilt and express remorse, the JEP does not have the power to issue prison sentences, but it can order house arrest or mobility restrictions as well reparations to local communities. JEP president, Judge Eduardo Cifuentes, highlighted the high proportion – 84% - of officers who, once accused, had admitted their guilt.
  • The JEP concluded that the army and right-wing paramilitaries were involved in killing innocent civilians. The killings would not have happened, it said, if the army had not had a “body count” culture in which commanding officers put their subordinates under relentless pressure to increase the official casualty rates.

Looking Ahead: The military confessions come ahead of next year’s general and presidential elections in which the role of the peace settlement and concept of transitional justice is likely to face scrutiny. While JEP is also investigating war crimes by former Farc members, revelations of the extent of the false positives scandal are likely to place conservative candidates on the defensive. 

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