LatinNews Daily - 13 December 2021 |
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.
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. |