State
Department Memorandum of Justification on Human Rights Conditions, July
8, 2003
MEMORANDUM
OF JUSTIFICATION CONCERNING HUMAN RIGHTS CONDITIONS WITH RESPECT TO
ASSISTANCE FOR COLOMBIAN ARMED FORCES
Section
564 of the Foreign Operations, Export Financing, and Related Programs
Appropriations Act, Division E, Consolidated Appropriations Resolution,
2003, (P.L. 108-7) (“FOAA”) lays out conditions under which
assistance using funds appropriated under the FOAA may be made available
for the Colombian Armed Forces. In particular, section 564(a)(1) provides
that up to 75 percent of funds may be obligated prior to a determination
and certification by the Secretary of State pursuant to paragraph (2),
which in turn provides that up to 12.5 percent of the remaining 25 percent
may be obligated only after the Secretary of State has made a determination
and certification with respect to certain human rights related conditions.
This memorandum
lays out the justification for the Secretary of State’s Determination
that the factors in section 564(a)(2) have been met.
The Colombian
Armed Forces are suspending military personnel credibly alleged to have
committed gross violations of human rights or to have aided or abetted
paramilitary organizations; are cooperating with civilian prosecutors
and judicial authorities; are severing links with paramilitary organizations;
are executing orders for the capture of paramilitary leaders; and the
Colombian Government is prosecuting and punishing those members of the
Armed Forces credibly alleged to have committed gross violations of
human rights or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations.
Although
the Secretary has determined that the efforts of the Government of Colombia
and the Colombian Armed Forces’ justify certification at this time,
the U.S. and Colombian governments recognize that the Colombian Government
and Armed Forces need to do more to protect human rights and to sever
military-paramilitary ties. President Alvaro Uribe and his Administration
have stated repeatedly their commitment to improving the human rights
situation in Colombia, both publicly and in discussions with USG officials.
On May
16, 2003 Uribe delivered a speech on the human rights situation to mark
the 68th anniversary of the founding of Colombia’s Police
Academy. He publicly called for Colombia’s security forces to
act with “aggressiveness to defeat terrorism, determination to
defend human rights, respect and tolerance for critics, respect and
tolerance for NGOs (non-governmental organizations), whether or not
we share their points of view.” Colombia, he said, would “defeat
terrorism with nothing that shames us,” and he called respect for
human rights and tolerance of critics “fundamental for the respectability
of our use of force, so that we can speak forcefully” on terrorism
both in Colombia and abroad.
Additionally,
on June 11, 2003, President Uribe held a four and one half hour meeting
with members of various Colombian human rights non-governmental organizations
to discuss the human rights and humanitarian situation in Colombia where
he reiterated the importance of the work of human rights NGOs in Colombia.
The United
States Government takes all human rights abuses seriously and we are
committed to continue working with the Government of Colombia on concrete
measures that it should take to make further progress in improving the
human rights performance of its Armed Forces and in severing military
ties with paramilitary groups.
Following
is a detailed discussion of the Colombian government’s and Armed
Forces’ compliance with the factors contained in section 564(a)(2).
Section
564(a)(2)(A) requires a determination that:
The Commander
General of the Colombian Armed Forces is suspending from the Armed Forces
those members, of whatever rank, who have been credibly alleged to have
committed gross violations of human rights, including extra-judicial
killings, or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations.
The Prosecutor
General’s Office (Fiscalia) is responsible for the criminal investigation
and prosecution of military personnel alleged to have committed violations
of human rights or to have aided or abetted paramilitaries. The Human
Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office is a special task
force currently comprised of more than 160 prosecutors, investigators,
and technicians responsible for the investigation and prosecution of
human rights crimes. Formed in October 1999, this unit has received
specialized training in the United States on conducting criminal investigations
of cases involving multiple homicides, bombings, and kidnappings. The
Human Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office is committed
to prosecuting all military personnel, regardless of rank, who have
committed violations of human rights or have colluded with paramilitaries,
but it is hampered by competing demands, security threats, and scarce
resources.
According
to a May 26, 2003 letter from the civilian director of the Human Rights
Unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Colombian Armed Forces
– in accordance with Colombian law and practice – are suspending,
upon the receipt of an order for preventive detention and at the request
of the Prosecutor General’s Office, military personnel alleged
to have committed gross violations of human rights or to have aided
or abetted paramilitary groups.
Colombia’s
Criminal Procedure Code establishes the legal basis on which the Armed
Forces suspends military personnel pursuant to a preventive detention
order. Under Article 359 of Colombia’s Code of Criminal Procedure,
all government institutions, including the Armed Forces, are required
to suspend from duty at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office
any public servant against whom the Prosecutor General's Office has
issued an order for preventive detention. When the Prosecutor General’s
Office orders an individual in the Armed Forces to be “preventively
detained,” the Armed Forces either holds that individual in custody
at military facilities or turns him over to civilian authorities. As
used in this memorandum, suspension refers to suspension under Colombian
law, which means removal from active duty and a fifty percent reduction
in pay.
The Prosecutor
General’s Office issues an order for preventive detention during
its investigation of a case, prior to formally charging a suspect with
a crime. Under Colombian criminal procedure, credible evidence warranting
the issuance of a preventive detention order (medida de aseguramiento)
is defined as “at least two reliable pieces of evidence developed
in an investigation linking the suspect to a crime.” The Prosecutor
General’s Office will make a request for suspension of the suspect
once a preventive detention order has been issued.
We understand
that acts that would constitute gross violations of human rights are
crimes under Colombian law, and that aiding and abetting paramilitary
groups, including organizing, financing or participating in an illegal
armed group, is considered a crime under Presidential Decree 1194, issued
on June 8, 1989. Further, these crimes are considered sufficiently
serious to lead the Prosecutor General’s Office to issue an order
for preventive detention and to request the suspension from active duty
of an individual credibly alleged to have committed such a crime.
The Human
Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General's Office reports that between
August 2002 and June 2003 it issued eleven individual orders for the
preventive detention of military personnel credibly alleged to have
committed gross human rights violations or to have collaborated with
paramilitaries. These personnel are listed below.
These cases
are in addition to the sixteen military personnel identified in the
September 9, 2002 report as having been detained and suspended by the
Armed Forces between January 2001 and August 2002; five of whom remained
in preventive detention and were suspended as of June 2003 and five
who had trial proceedings initiated against them. With respect to the
six who are no longer detained or suspended, five (Army Major Jaime
Esguerra Santos, Army Second Sergeant Sandro Fernando Barrero, Army
Second Sergeant Humberto Blandon Vargas, Marine Sergeant Ruben Dario
Rojas Bolivar and Marine Sergeant Euclides Bosa Mendoza) had their preventive
detention orders overturned on appeal, and one (Army Lieutenant Oscar
Yesid Cortes Martinez) escaped and has an arrest warrant issued against
him.
According
to the Prosecutor General's Office, the Armed Forces complied with the
order for the preventive detention of each individual when notified,
and suspended the military personnel involved when asked to do so by
the Prosecutor General’s Office. Additionally, between August
2002 and June 2003, six military personnel were indicted and had trial
proceedings initiated against them in civilian courts. These personnel
are listed in section 564(a)(2)(B).
The following
individuals were in preventive detention and suspended as of June 2003:
1)
Army Soldier Luis Salomon Puerto Acero. Detained and suspended
upon an order of preventive detention issued on August 21, 2002 on credible
evidence of aggravated homicide and conspiracy.
2) Army
Major Orlando Hernando Pulido Rojas. Detained and suspended upon
an order of preventive detention issued on March 4, 2003 on credible
evidence of aggravated multiple homicide and conspiracy to collaborate
with paramilitaries during the 1998 La Cabuya massacre.
3) Army
Soldier Juan Carlos Vasquez. Detained and suspended upon an order
of preventive detention issued August 21, 2002 on credible evidence
of aggravated homicide and conspiracy to collaborate with paramilitaries.
4) Army
Soldier Raul Lizcano Ortiz. Detained and suspended upon an order
of preventive detention issued February 21, 2003 on credible evidence
of aggravated homicide and conspiracy to collaborate with paramilitaries.
5) Army
Second Corporal Juan Alberto Diaz Lince. Detained and suspended
upon an order of preventive detention issued February 27, 2003 on credible
evidence of conspiracy to collaborate with paramilitaries.
6) Army
Second Sergeant Waldo Quintero Cuervo. Detained and suspended upon
an order of preventive detention issued February 27, 2003 on credible
evidence of conspiracy to collaborate with paramilitaries.
7) Army
Lieutenant Mihaly Istvan Jurko Vasquez. Detained and suspended
upon an order of preventive detention issued February 27, 2003 on credible
evidence of torture.
8)
Army Soldier Carlos Alberto Buila Bolaños. Detained and suspended
upon an order of preventive detention issued November 29, 2002 on credible
evidence of conspiracy to collaborate with paramilitaries.
9) Army
Lieutenant Colonel Silvio Augusto Vallego Vargas. Detained and
suspended upon an order of preventive detention issued December 2, 2002
on credible evidence of aggravated homicide and theft.
10) Army
Captain Yoguin Pavon Martinez. Detained and suspended upon an order
of preventive detention issued December 2, 2002 on credible evidence
of aggravated homicide and theft.
11) Army
First Sergeant Marciano Martinez Perdomo. Detained and suspended
upon an order of preventive detention issued December 2, 2002 on credible
evidence of aggravated homicide and theft.
The following
individuals remain suspended, as noted in the September 9, 2002 memorandum
of justification:
12) Army
Sergeant Manuel Antonio Mirando Mejia
13) Army
Sergeant Luis Reina Sanchez
14) Army
Soldier Willinton Romana Tello
15) Army
Major Cesar Alonso Maldonado Vidales
16) Army
Major Alvaro Cortes Murillo
Section
564(a)(2)(B) requires a determination that:
The
Colombian Government is prosecuting those members of the Colombian Armed
Forces, of whatever rank, who have been credibly alleged to have committed
gross violations of human rights, including extra-judicial killings,
or to have aided or abetted paramilitary organizations, and is punishing
those members of the Colombian Armed Forces found to have committed
such violations of human rights or to have aided or abetted paramilitary
organizations.
The Human
Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office is committed to
prosecuting military personnel who have committed violations of human
rights or have colluded with paramilitaries.
On June
19, 2003, retired Army Colonel Lino Hernando Sanchez was sentenced to
40 years in prison for actively conspiring with paramilitaries in the
massacre of dozens of peasants by AUC combatants in Mapiripán in 1997.
Sanchez was the former operations commander of the 12th Brigade, headquartered
in Florencia. This is one of the heaviest sentences for human rights
abuses ever passed against a member of the Colombian armed forces.
Judge Lester Gonzalez also sentenced Sergeants Julio Enrique Florez,
Jose Miller, and Juan Carlos Gamarra to 40, 32, and 22-year sentences
respectively for their complicity in the massacre. AUC leader Carlos
Castaño was sentenced in absentia to 40 years in prison.
On March
10, 2003 the Prosecutor General's Office initiated trial proceedings
against former General Jaime Humberto Uscategui for failing to prevent
the same paramilitary massacre in Mapiripán in 1997. The Prosecutor
General’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Uscategui the same
day for the crimes of omission regarding aggravated homicide and kidnapping
and the crimes of terrorism and conspiracy. He remains in custody in
Bogotá while a Colombian court hears his appeal of charges against him.
In addition
to the military personnel placed under preventive detention as listed
in section 564(a)(2)(A), between August 2002 and June 2003 six military
personnel were indicted and had trial proceedings (resoluciones de acusación)
initiated against them in civilian courts:
1) Army
(Unknown Rank) Garzon Edgar Garcia. Indicted and suspended as a
result of an order issued March 7, 2003 to initiate trial proceedings
for charges of aggravated kidnapping and conspiracy.
2) Army
Lieutenant Gustavo Adolfo Gutierrez Barragan. Indicted and suspended
as a result of an order issued October 25, 2002 to initiate trial proceedings
for a charge of aggravated homicide. He was detained and suspended
on order of preventive detention issued April 19, 2002, as noted in
the September 9, 2002 report.
3) Army
Soldier Orbien Giraldo Sanabria. Indicted and suspended as a result
of an order issued October 25, 2002 to initiate trial proceedings for
a charge of aggravated homicide. He was detained and suspended on order
of preventive detention issued April 19, 2002, as noted in the September
9, 2002 report.
4) Army
Soldier Juan de Jesus Garcia Walteros. Indicted and suspended as
a result of an order issued October 25, 2002 to initiate trial proceedings
for a charge of aggravated homicide. He was detained and suspended
on order of preventive detention issued April 19, 2002, as noted in
the September 9, 2002 report.
5) Army
Soldier Sergio Fernandez Romero. Indicted and suspended as a result
of an order issued October 25, 2002 to initiate trial proceedings for
a charge of aggravated homicide. He was detained and suspended on order
of preventive detention issued April 19, 2002, as noted in the September
9, 2002 report.
6) Retired
General Jaime Humberto Uscategui. Cited above.
This is
in addition to the following individuals who remain in preventive detention
as their trial proceedings progress, as noted in the September 9, 2002
memorandum:
7) Army
Major Jesus Mahecha Mahecha
8) Army
Sub-Lieutenant Nelson Jose Granados Gonzalez
9) Army
Sergeant Juan Bautista Uribe Figueroa
10) Army
First Corporal Floriberto Amado Celis
11) Army
First Corporal Julio Hernando Rios
Section
564(a)(2)(C) requires a determination that:
The
Colombian Armed Forces are cooperating with civilian prosecutors and
judicial authorities in such cases, (including providing requested information,
such as the identity of the persons suspended from the Armed Forces
and the nature and cause of the suspension, and access to witnesses
and relevant military documents and other information).
The
Minister of Defense has designated the Coordinator of the Armed Forces’
Group of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law as the liaison
between civilian authorities and the Armed Forces. Additionally, to
ensure cooperation on the regional and local levels, the directors of
the Human Rights offices of the Armed Forces liaise with the representatives
of the Inspector General’s (Procuraduria) and Prosecutor General’s
Offices in their respective jurisdictions.
Elba Beatriz
Silva, director of the Human Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General's
Office, in a letter dated May 26, 2003 to the Colombian Vice President,
who is coordinating the Government of Colombia’s human rights policy,
stated: “The Chief Prosecutor of the Human Rights and International
Humanitarian Law Unit in the Office of the Prosecutor General of the
Republic of Colombia, hereby certifies:
That the
Colombian Armed Forces have provided effective, efficient, and staunch
support to this Unit, during nationwide investigations underway because
of serious, massive, and systematic violations of human rights. Criteria
evaluated:
1.
When law enforcement officers are sought on the basis of arrest warrants,
they search for them within Colombian territory and make them available
for appropriate criminal prosecution;
2.
They ensure custody of the accused by means of preventive detention;
3.
Once the Office of the Prosecutor General reports its decision, they
suspend the detained law enforcement officer from his duties;
4.
They safeguard and protect the prosecutors engaged in these sensitive
investigations while they are in conflict areas and whenever they travel,
which facilitates evidence gathering activities;
5.
They cooperate actively in the performance of judicial procedures such
as arrests and searches, and they support the technical and scientific
field work of laboratory personnel from the Office of the Prosecutor
General;
6.
In cases such as these, they bring witnesses or surrender former combat
personnel who wish to assist in dismantling illegal organizations before
the Unit or the Office of the Prosecutor General;
7.
They provide institutional information or documents requested by Prosecutors.”
Cooperation
between the Armed Forces and the Prosecutor General’s Office was
seen in the investigation into the August 2000 homicide of Alexander
Jose Larios in San Clavel de Puerto Wilches (Santander), which led to
an order of preventive detention and the initiation of trial proceedings
against Nelson Jose Granados Gonzalez (noted in Section 564(a)(2)(B))
and an order of preventive detention issued against Captain Oscar Yesid
Cortes Martinez (noted in Section 564 (a)(2)(A)) for the crimes of aggravated
homicide, conspiracy to collaborate with paramilitaries, and use of
false documents.
During
the investigation into Sub-Lieutenant Weiman Gonzalo Navarro’s
(Battalion “Patriotas” of Honda Tolima) participation in a
homicide; collaboration between the Prosecutor General’s Office
and the Armed Forces led to the issuance of a preventive detention order
against Gonzalo Navarro in 2001.
Cooperation
between the Armed Forces and the Prosecutor General’s Office was
also seen in the investigation and prosecution of military personnel
involved in the November 1998 massacre at La Cabuya. The 16th
Brigade and the 25th Counterguerrilla Battalion supplied
the Prosecutor General’s Office with the documents they requested
for the investigation and also provided helicopter transport for the
investigators between the municipalities of El Yopal and Paz de Ariporo.
Additionally, the Armed Forces arrested Captain Martinez de la Ossa,
Lieutenant Quintero Carreno, Corporal Barrera Sipagauta, and Soldiers
Juan Carlos Vasquez and Luis Salomon Puerto Acero and turned them over
to the Prosecutor General’s Office.
Similarly,
Eduardo Jose Maya Villazón, Inspector General of the Republic of Colombia,
in a letter dated May 8, 2003 to the Colombian Vice President stated:
“I hereby certify that Armed Forces personnel have made themselves
available for, and have cooperated with, disciplinary proceedings regarding
human rights violations pursued by the Office of the Inspector General.”
The civilian
Inspector General’s Office (Procuraduria) conducts disciplinary
investigations and can impose administrative sanctions, including suspension
or dismissal, on military personnel. Although seldom used, the Inspector
General has the authority to order the provisional suspension of personnel
during the investigation of offenses involving gross misconduct. Under
Colombia’s Military Criminal Justice Code, the Inspector General’s
Office is required to exercise oversight of the military legal system.
Colombian military investigators immediately notify the Inspector General’s
Office of the opening of any criminal investigation by military legal
authorities of military personnel and provide the Inspector General
with regular updates throughout the investigation.
From August
1, 2002 - April 30, 2003 the Inspector General’s Office charged
27 members of the Armed Forces with human rights offenses. Of these
individuals, 5 were soldiers, 2 were non-commissioned officers (NCOs),
7 were lieutenants, 12 were captains, and 1 was a colonel.
The Superior
Military Tribunal reports that between September 2002 and May 2003 the
military courts voluntarily transferred 57 cases involving military
personnel over to the civilian judiciary for investigation and possible
prosecution. The 57 cases break down as follows: 54 Army, 2 Navy,
and 1 Air Force. A review by the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá of case summaries
prepared by the Superior Military Tribunal in May 2003 revealed that
26 of these cases were crimes related to “grave” violations
of human rights and/or for aiding or abetting paramilitaries and that
all these cases were transferred to civilian courts.
The Supreme
Council of the Judiciary (CSJ) resolves jurisdictional disputes between
military and civilian prosecutors. Military personnel charged with
a crime by civilian authorities may also challenge the jurisdiction
of the civilian court. The Ministry of Defense and civilian judicial
officials agree that military courts respect the decisions of the CSJ.
From August
2002 through April 2003, the CSJ ruled on eight jurisdictional disputes
related to cases of human rights violations or aiding and abetting paramilitaries.
Of these, five cases were transferred to the civilian judiciary and
three were transferred to the military judiciary. Two of the cases
transferred to the civilian judiciary involved members of the Air Force
implicated in the December 1998 Santo Domingo massacre and three involved
cases of homicide. The three cases transferred to the military judiciary
were cases of homicide that were determined to be related to acts of
service.
Section
564(a)(2)(D) requires a determination that:
The
Colombian Armed Forces are severing links (including denying access
to military intelligence, vehicles, and other equipment or supplies,
and ceasing other forms of active or tacit cooperation), at the command,
battalion, and brigade levels, with paramilitary organizations.
The Colombian
Armed Forces are taking effective action to sever links between military
personnel and paramilitary units at the command, battalion and brigade
levels. In addition, President Alvaro Uribe and Defense Minister Marta
Lucia Ramirez have stated repeatedly, both publicly and in discussions
with USG officials, that they will not tolerate collaboration between
military personnel and paramilitary groups.
The Colombian
military leadership has issued guidance to the Colombian military to
address the problem of former service members who join the AUC while
maintaining their connections with active duty soldiers. The Colombian
military is seeking to identify former career soldiers with ties to
illegal armed groups and their active duty contacts, and has expressly
restricted the access of such individuals to military facilities. The
Armed Forces has increased base security and force protection measures
to deter unauthorized contacts between active duty personnel and criminal
elements such as paramilitaries.
The Colombian
Armed Forces are taking action against senior officials suspected of
having links to paramilitaries. In June 2003, the Colombian Armed Forces
removed General Gabriel Diaz, head of the Second Brigade in Barranquilla,
from the military under its discretional authority. D Diaz has links to
narcotraffickers and paramilitaries.
On November
26, 2002, Minister of Defense Marta Lucia Ramirez announced the resignation
of Rear Admiral Rodrigo Quinones from the Colombian Navy. She said
Quinones' resignation was accepted because the government needed to
“preserve the military” and to assure the people that the
members of the armed forces were “above any blemishes.” Ramirez
told the press that the GOC's decision in this case was also related
to ongoing criminal investigations by civilian authorities into his
conduct.
According
to Colombian authorities, in the period of September 1, 2002 to May
27, 2003, the Armed Forces captured or detained 511 paramilitaries and
handed them over to the appropriate authorities. They also killed in
combat 125 paramilitaries. Since January 2003, the Colombian military
has seized 389 weapons (including grenades and rocket launchers), 111
radios, 62 cellular phones, explosive material, 198 vehicles, and three
airplanes.
The AUC
announced, in a November 29 open letter, a unilateral ceasefire starting
December 1. In December 2002, the Colombian Congress extended for four
years Law 418 of 1997, which grants the President authority to negotiate
with illegal armed groups. The GOC is currently involved in “exploratory
talks” with some paramilitary groups to determine if formal peace
negotiations would be possible. Still, the Colombian Armed Forces continue
to take military action against paramilitary units.
The Colombian
Armed Forces’ progress in combating the paramilitaries can be seen
in the following operations:
- On
May 14, 2003 the Colombian Army detained 37 paramilitaries in Tame,
Arauca Department. Soldiers from the Army’s 5th Mobile
Brigade captured the paramilitaries after a struggle that left one
dead and several injured. The Prosecutor General’s Office is
working with the Army to identify the captured combatants. Once identified,
they will be investigated by civilian authorities for determination
of possible charges.
- On March
20, 2003, six paramilitaries were captured by the 24th
Counterguerrilla Battalion (“Heroes de Pisba”) at a roadblock
in Vereda Bogotá (municipality of Arauca) while they were moving a
vehicle full of weapons and ammunition. On April 25, 2003 the Prosecutor
General’s Office reported the six (found to be members of the
AUC “Vencedores” Bloc) were placed under preventive detention
for the crimes of conspiracy, forced disappearance, torture, homicide
and other crimes. The Prosecutor General’s Office has opened
an investigation against the six.
- On March
8, 2003, the Colombian Army’s First Division and the Prosecutor
General’s Office launched a joint operation against the AUC’s
Caribbean Bloc in Santa Marta. The Prosecutor General’s Office
has identified 67 combatants and charged them with kidnapping, extortion,
and other crimes. This joint effort was the largest anti-paramilitary
collaboration between the Prosecutor General’s Office and the
Army to date.
- On March
1, 2003 soldiers from the 5th Energy and Road Plan Battalion
confiscated a cache containing 150 7.62 caliber cartridges, two hand
grenades, four mortar grenades, and various other supplies in Remolina.
- On March
1, 2003 two paramilitaries were killed in a clash with soldiers from
the Maza Group, part of the army’s 5th Brigade in
Campo Zulia, Norte de Santander. Soldiers confiscated a 7.62 caliber
rifle, a Colt 45 pistol, fifty-eight 7. 62 caliber cartridges for
an AK-47 rifle, a rifle grenade, and a M-26 hand grenade.
The Armed
Forces have also provided support to civilian prosecutors and judicial
authorities investigating and prosecuting alleged paramilitaries. Examples
of this cooperation include:
- During
three visits by a commission of officials of the Prosecutor General’s
Office (December 3-22, 2002; April 5-16, 2003 and May 5-9, 2003) to
San Jose del Apartado and Cacarica to investigate violations of human
rights and international humanitarian law by members of paramilitary
organizations, the 17th Brigade in Carepa provided security
in San Jose de Apartado and the 50th Marine Battalion provided
security and logistical support in Cacarica. The Prosecutor General’s
Office acknowledged they would not have been able to enter these areas
without the support of the Armed Forces due to the continuous presence
of both the FARC and AUC.
- During
an investigation in late March 2003 in Guapi and Puerto Saija to investigate
cases of homicide and conspiracy by paramilitary members, the Prosecutor
General’s Office reported that 40 Marines from the base in Guapi
accompanied the commission and provided transportation and security
for the investigators.
- From
October – December 2002 with logistical and transportation support
provided by the Army’s Third Brigade a commission from the Prosecutor
General’s Office entered the Department of Cauca and captured
35 alleged members of the AUC, 8 of them commanders and 1 chief of
finance. They also confiscated vehicles, weapons, and ammunition.
These individuals were arrested and are currently being detained by
the Prosecutor General’s Office pending an investigation and
determination of charges.
- As a
result of an October 16-30, 2002 investigation led by the Prosecutor
General’s Office to Puerto Torres, and supported by the Armed
Forces, arrest warrants were issued and later executed against AUC
member Efrain Martinez Sarmiento who was placed in preventive detention
on November 8, 2002; Nevardo Antonio Millan Sánchez, 1st
Commander of the “Sur” Bloc of the AUC; and Everado Bolaños
Galindo, 2nd Commander of the “Sur” Bloc. Bolaños
Galindo was arrested and placed in preventive detention on December
16, 2002.
Section
564(a)(2)(E) requires a determination that:
The
Colombian Armed Forces are executing orders for capture of leaders of
paramilitary organizations that continue armed conflict.
The Armed
Forces have provided support to civilian prosecutors and judicial authorities
investigating and prosecuting alleged paramilitaries. The Colombian
National Police are responsible for executing arrest warrants in urban
areas, but the Armed Forces frequently execute arrests in rural areas
or areas where there is no police presence.
The Human
Rights Unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office reports from August
1, 2002 to May 7, 2003 they have 225 arrest warrants open against members
of paramilitary organizations. During this same timeframe, an additional
360 arrest warrants were executed by the Human Rights Unit with the
help of the Armed Forces.
Examples
of paramilitary leaders arrested with the help of the Armed Forces of
Colombia and handed over to the appropriate authorities include:
- Said
Sepúlveda Rios (“Wolman” or “Oscar”), leader of
the AUC’s Fidel Castano Gil urban front of the Central Bolivar
Bloc, captured on June 21, 2003. Under Sepúlveda’s command,
roughly 200 men perpetrated dozens of massacres and selective killings
in Barrancabermeja.
- Eliécer
Antonio Sepúlveda Urbina (“Byron”); Leader of Finances in
Popayán, Cauca Department, captured on September 7, 2002.
- William
de Jesús Granda David (“Jimmy”); Second Commander in Cauca
Department, Calima Bloc, captured on November 14, 2002.
- Armando
Lugo (“Oscar” or “El Cabezon”); Commander in Cauca,
captured September 7, 2002.
- Miguel
Angel Paez Hernández (“Michael”); Urban commander of Tambo,
Cauca Department, Calima Bloc, captured November 14, 2002.
- Franklin
Salazar Argel (“El Costeño”); Urban commander of Popayán,
Cauca Department, Calima Bloc, captured November 14, 2002.
- Juan
Carlos Aragon Vidal (“Juan Carlos”); Municipal commander
of Puerto Tejada, Cauca Department, Calima Bloc, captured November
27, 2002.
- Carlos
Fabio Viscunda (“Pedro”); Urban commander of Puerto Tejada,
Cauca Department, Calima Bloc, captured November 20, 2002.
- Never
Sadoc Hernández Charraquiel (“Felipe”); Urban Commander
of Bordo, Cauca Department, Calima Bloc, captured August 21, 2002.
- Felix
Manuel Sandon Ramírez (“El Flaco” or “David”);
Urban commander in Mercaderes, Cauca Department captured January 15,
2003.
- Jose
Ruben Peña Tobon (“Lucho”); Commander of the “Compania
Centauros” Vencedores Bloc, Arauca Department captured March
20, 2003.
