CHAPTER VII

 

  THE RIGHT TO LIFE

 

  continued...

 

                                                      MASSACRES RECORDED IN 1990

 

1/12     ANTIOQUIA            Six people were murdered in the Riogrande district, Santa Rosa de Osos jurisdiction.  Author:  "MUERTE A REVOLUCIONARIOS DEL NORDESTE.

 

1/20     ANTIOQUIA            Eleven people murdered on a ranch in the village of Calderas, Gómez Plata jurisdiction.  Author:  La Ramada.

 

1/28     CORDOBA               Six peasant farmers murdered in the hamlet of Patio Bonito, between Chinú and San Andrés de Sotavento.  Author:  ALFA 83.

 

2/2       CUNDINAMARCA      Seven people murdered at Guayabetal, Quebrada Blanca sector, on the Bogota-Villavicencio road.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA LOS GAITANES.

 

2/3       SANTANDER           A common grave is discovered at Hoyo Mamayo, San Vicente de Chucurí area, containing the remains of approximately 10 people.  Author:  MAS.

 

2/3       ANTIOQUIA            Seven people murdered on the Medellín-Envigado road.  Author:  MAS.

 

2/12     CHOCO                  Six people murdered on the banks of the Atrato river, in the jurisdiction of the municipalities of Bellavista and Quibdó.  Author:  LOS TANGUEROS.

 

2/17     CUNDINAMARCA      Seven people murdered on the Planadas ranch, Village of Cubaché, jurisdiction of the municipality of Yacopí.  Another four people were wounded.  Author:  LOS TISNADOS.

 

2/23     SANTANDER           Five people murdered in the Magdalena river, near Barrancabermeja (Santander).  The bodies showed signs of torture.  Author:  MAS.

 

2/24     META                    Six people murdered in the village of Cumaral, jurisdiction of the municipality of Medellín del Ariari.  Author:  EJERCITO ROJO FASCISTA.

 

2/27     CHOCO                  Six people murdered in the Unguía main square.  They were members of the Unión Patriótica.  Author:  LOS TANGUEROS.

 

3/19     ANTIOQUIA            Five people murdered in the Alfonso López district of Apartadó.  Five others were wounded.  Author:  MUERTE A REVOLUCIONARIOS DEL NORDESTE.

 

5/6       GUAVIARE              Thirteen people murdered in El Capricho, jurisdiction of San José del Guaviare.  Author:  EJERCITO ROJO FASCISTA.

 

5/10     BOYACA                 Six unidentified people killed on the Muzo-Chiquinquirá road.  They were travelling in a car.  Author:  GRUJUSBOY.

 

5/9       PUTUMAYO            Nine people murdered in the village of El Cairo, jurisdiction of the municipality La Hormiga.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA DE CHANCHI.

 

6/23     ANTIOQUIA             19 people murdered in the Oporto tavern in Envigado.  Author:  BANDA SICARIOS SEGURIDAD Y CONTROL.

 

6/25     CAUCA                   Six people murdered in the San Juanito District, jurisdiction of Mercaderes.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA MORALES Y CAJIBIO.

 

6/28     PUTUMAYO             Four indigenous persons killed in Churuyaco, Brisas de Quebradón district, jurisdiction of Orito.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA DE CHANCHI.

 

7/6       PUTUMAYO            Nine peasant farmers killed in the village of El Cairo, San Miguel Inspection, La Hormiga jurisdiction.  Their homes were also burned down.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA DE CHANCHI.

 

7/11     VALLE                   Seven people murdered in the La Tulla district, jurisdiction of the municipality of Bolívar.  Author:  BANDA DEL NORTE DEL VALLE.

 

10/13   ANTIOQUIA             Seven people murdered in the Castilla district of Medellín.  Another six were wounded.  Author:  MAS.

 

10/18   CAUCA                   Four unidentified persons murdered at the La Argentina mill, Ortegal district, jurisdiction of Miranda.  Author:  FRENTE AMISTAD JUVENIL.

 

10/25   CORDOBA               Twelve people murdered in Tierralta.  Author:  LOS TANGUEROS

 

12/15   ANTIOQUIA             Twelve people murdered in a public establishment called Sturpu, in Itagui.  Another six people were wounded.  Author:  MUERTE A REVOLUCIONARIOS DEL NORDESTE.

 

12/14   ANTIOQUIA             Eight people murdered in a public establishment in the San Antonio de Prado district, jurisdiction of Medellín.  Author:  LOS MACHOS.

 

12/14   VALLE                    Five people murdered in La Primavera district, Bolívar jurisdiction.  Author:  FRENTE AMISTAD JUVENIL.

 

12/15   ANTIOQUIA             Seven people murdered in the Puerto Bélgica district, municipality of Cáceres.  Author:  MUERTE A REVOLUCIONARIOS DEL NORDESTE.

 

 

                                                      MASSACRES RECORDED IN 1991

 

1/9       ANTIOQUIA            Seven people murdered in Medellín.  Author:  LOS CARIÑOSITOS.

 

2/1       ANTIOQUIA            Seven people murdered in Medellín.  Author:  BANDA LOS GACHAS.

 

2/1       CUNDINAMARCA      Five people murdered on the Chaguaní-Vian-i road.  Author:  LOS CACHACOS.

 

2/19     RISARALDA             Eight people murdered in the Cauca River, near Marsella.  Author:  LOS MAGNIFICOS.

 

2/23     TOLIMA                 Six people killed, among them ROSALBA CAMACHO, a Council Member of the Unión Patriótica, in the village of El Motoso, jurisdiction of Prado.  Author:  ROJO ATA.

 

2/24     ANTIOQUIA            Five people murdered in a Medellín square.  Another six people wounded.  Author:  MAS.

 

2/25     BOYACA                 Five people murdered at the place known as El Peñón, Macanal jurisdiction.  Earlier they had been abducted at Garagoa.  Author:  GRUPO COSCUEZ ADENTRO.

 

2/26     ANTIOQUIA            Nine people murdered in Medellín.  Author:  LOS KILES.

 

4/12     CUNDINAMARCA      Seven unidentified persons killed at El Pin, Santandercito district,       Soacha jurisdiction.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA USME.

 

4/13     ATLANTICO            Seven people killed on the Barranquilla-Puerto Colombia road.  Author:  LOS TESOS.

 

5/21     ANTIOQUIA            Seven people murdered at La Ceja.  Author:  BANDA SICARIOS SEGURIDAD Y CONTROL.

 

5/29     CUNDINAMARCA      Five people murdered in Vergara jurisdiction.  Author:  LOS GAITANES.

 

6/2       VALLE                   Four people killed in the village of Jordancito, Buenaventura jurisdiction (Valle).  Author:  LOS PAISAS.

 

6/2       NORTE DE

            SANTANDER           Four people killed in Urimaco district, Cúucuta jurisdiction.  Author:  BANDERA  ROJA.

 

6/19     CAUCA                   Five people murdered at El Salado, in the village of Loma Redonda, Jambaló jurisdiction.  They had been abducted there on June 17.  Author:  FRENTE AMISTAD JUVENIL.

 

6/26     VALLE                    Five people killed in Palmaseca district, on the Rozo-Palmira road.  Author:  BANDA DEL NORTE DEL VALLE.

 

7/15     RISARALDA             Six people killed at Puente Tierra, in the village of Planes, Santuario jurisdiction.  Author:  BANDA DE OLMEDO.

 

7/23     MAGDALENA           Five people murdered in the Pozo de la Danta region, Ciénaga jurisdiction.  Two children were wounded.  Author:  LOS CHAMIZOS.

 

7/28     CAUCA                  Four unidentified people murdered on the La Suiza hacienda, Puerto Tejada jurisdiction.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA MORALES Y CAJIBIO.

 

7/30     BOYACA                 Five people murdered at Quebrada Tobacia, El Rodeo village, Berbeo jurisdiction.  Author:  GRUJUSBOY.

 

8/8       SANTANDER            Six people murdered in Bucaramanga.  Author:  LOS GRILLOS.

 

8/16     CESAR                   Five people killed in Las Cubres village, Estados Unidos district, Becerril jurisdiction.  Author:  LOS TESOS.

 

8/18     ANTIOQUIA             Seven people killed, five indigents among them, in Segovia.  Author:  MUERTE A REVOLUCIONARIOS DEL NORDESTE.

 

9/5       ANTIOQUIA            Seven people killed in the San Javier district of Medellín.  Author:  LOS PRISCOS.

 

9/11     MAGDALENA           Four people murdered in San Pedro de la Sierra jurisdiction.  Author:  M-1.

 

9/14     META                    Murder of CARLOS JULIAN VELEZ RODRIGUEZ, Unión Patriótica Deputy; his wife MARIA NORMA GARZON MOYA; his son LUIS CARLOS BELLO GARZON, and his brother DIMAS ELKIN VELEZ RODRIGUEZ, a leader in that political movement. This occurred in the village of Las Brisas, Mesetas jurisdiction.  Author:  FRENTE REVOLUCIONARIO CAMPESINO.

 

9/15     CASANARE             Five people murdered in Puerto Galtán jurisdiction.  They had been abducted that same day from the La Esperanza farm in the village of Limonar, La Pollata Inspection, Tauramena municipality.  Author:  MOVIMIENTO DE DEFENSA CASNAREÑA.

 

9/30     ANTIOQUIA            Murder of JOSE GUILLERMO YEPEZ GUTIERREZ, union leader at the Frontino Gold Mines company.  Also murdered at the same time were EUCLIDES TAPARCUA, JORGE ALIRIO RIOS MARIN, JUAN MARIO JIMENEZ, RAMIRO DE JESUS AGUDELO RAMIREZ, JOHN JAIRO CEBALLOS and an unidentified person, in Segovia.  Author:  MUERTE A REVOLUCIONARIOS DEL NORDESTE.

 

10/28   ANTIOQUIA             The bodies of GABRIEL ANTONIO ZAPATA VELASQUEZ, JOVEL ANTONIO OBANDO, WILLIAM CARDONA and HUMBERTO DE JESUS YEPEZ MARQUEZ were discovered (the first two in Medellín and the others in Girardota).  They had been kidnapped in Medellín on October 20, 1991.  Author:  LOS PLASMAS.

 

11/5     BOLIVAR                Murder of EPL members NORBERTO SANCHEZ ARGUMERO, ROSIRIS MARTINEZ NAVARRO, INGRI MARTINEZ NAVARRO and ISIDRO ANTONIO MARTINEZ PASTRANA, chief of finance of the Francisco Martínez Narváez Front of the EPL, in Cartagena.  Author:  AMIGOS DE COLOMBIA.

 

11/6     VALLE                    CARLOS ARTURO ORTEGA MARTINEZ, MARCO ANTONIO HENAO OSORIO, DAGOBERTO GONZALEZ CASTAÑEDA, LUZ EDY MURILLO TABARES and two unidentified persons, in Florida.  Author:  MOVIMIENTO CIVICO REVOLUCIONARIO.

 

11/21   SANTANDER            The bodies of RODOLFO GOMEZ RODRIGUEZ and three unidentified persons were discovered in Matanza jurisdiction; later, authorities  removed the bodies of MARCO OCHOA, ISRAEL BLANCO and an unidentified person at the place known as El Reposo, Matajira village in that municipality.  Author:  LOS GRILLOS.

 

11/21   RISARALDA             Murder of LEONARDO GARCIA and three other persons by the last name of ROJAS PEÑA, on the Calidades ranch, Santuario jurisdiction.  Author:  BANDA DE OLMEDO.

 

11/22   MAGDALENA            Murder of PEDRO JULIAN POLO FLOREZ, NERFER FRANCISCO LOPEZ SIERRA and two unidentified persons in Ciénaga.  Author:  LOS CHAMIZOS.

 

11/23   CUNDINAMARCA       Murder of DIANA PATRICIA MUNAR SUAREZ, JOHN SOTELO CIFUENTES, and three unidentified persons, in Bogota.  Author: AUTODEFENSA USME.

 

11/25   BOYACA                 Murder of LUIS EFREN MORA MORA, JORGE ALIRIO LAGOS LAGOS and RAUL and JULIAN RODRIGUEZ PINEDA, in Pesca.  Author:  AUTODEFENSAS CAMPESINAS DEL MAGDALENA MEDIO.

 

11/23   CUNDINAMARCA       Murder of VICTOR MANUEL RAMIREZ CAMACHO and GABRIEL ANTONIO MATIZ ORDOÑEZ, in the village of Maripí, Villeta jurisdiction. Later, the bodies of HUMBERTO RAMIREZ ESCOBAR and LUIS ALBERTO RAMIREZ CAMACHO were found on the El Rozo farm in Villeta jurisdiction.  They had been tortured.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA LOS CACHACOS.

 

11/28   MAGDALENA            Murder of HERNAN REQUEME VEGA, a leader in the Unión Patriótica; JAVIER ANTONIO MARTINEZ URIBE, a leader of Sintagro; SANTANDER SEGUNDO SARMIENTO SANCHEZ, JUAN SEGUNDO PACHECO DEL VALLE and AMARIUS SANJUMA GUERRERO were killed at Cerro Azul, on the Ciénaga-Fundación road.  Author:  LOS CHAMIZOS.

 

12/1     CORDOBA               Murder of MILES CRISTINA VILLADIEGO, FREDY MIGUEL VILLADIEGO, ALVARO JOSE TORRES SALCEDO and another unidentified person, in the Santafé district, Chinú jurisdiction.  Author:  ALFA 83.

 

12/2     ANTIOQUIA             Murder of OLIVERIO MUÑOZ MONSALVE, his wife LUCELY ZAPATA, their children CESAR DE JESUS, ALBA LUCIA, DORELIS EDITH, HUMBERTO, ARGILIO and DARIO MARIO MUÑOZ ZAPATA, as well as ANTONIO JOSE and MARIA LUISA MONSALVE, on the La Casita ranch, located at Los Arrayanes, village of Alto Seco, San Andrés de Cuerquia jurisdiction.  Author:  MUERTE A REVOLUCIONARIOS DEL NORDESTE.

 

12/10   CUNDINAMARCA       Murder of GILMA CAICEDO, ANGELA YADIRA VILLARAL LOPEZ, HUGO VEGA RODRIGUEZ and DIEGO FERNANDEZ CIFUENTES, in Bogota.  Author:  AUTODEFENSA USME.

 

12/12   RISARALDA             Murder of LILIANA and HELENA RIOS BLANDON (sisters) and MAURICIO ALBERTO PUERTAS GRAJALES, JULIO CESAR SALAZAR GRAJALES and RAMIRO EDUARDO ROJAS, at the place known as El Túnel on the Quinchía-Puerto Rico road.  Author:  LOS MAGNIFICOS.

 

12/16   CAUCA                   Murder of twenty indigenous people in the Páez community.  Among them were four children, four women and four old people.  The scene of the events was the place known as El Tablón on the Nilo hacienda, Caloto jurisdiction.  They also burned ten homes.  In the investigation, the Public Order Judge handling the case ordered the arrest of five persons.

 

12/20   CUNDINAMARCA       Four unidentified persons were murdered on the Usme-Bogota road. Author:  AUTODEFENSA USME.

 

12/20   SANTANDER            Murder of ALIRIO RETAMOZO PELAEZ, MARTIN DIAS ARIAS, ABEL ANTONIO MANZANAO VARGAS, LUIS ENRIQUE MANZANO VARGAS and ISMAEL PALAEZ DIAZ, at the place known as Boca Caño, El Llanito district, Barrancabermeja jurisdiction.  Author:  AUTODEFENSAS CAMPESINOS DEL MAGDALENA MEDIO.

 

12/28   VALLE                    Murder of the brothers DIOMEDES and ULISES ANDRADE LEYTON, ISRAEL MORALES VALENCIA and JOSE BELALCAZAR in Palmira.  Author:  BANDA DEL NORTE DEL VALLE.

 

 

                                                                                                       

                               MASSACRES RECORDED BETWEEN JANUARY AND APRIL 1992

 

1/1       RISARALDA            Murder of four persons:  FERNANDO ISAZA GALLEGO, JUSTO PASTOR PORRAS ARCILA, DIDIER ISAZA ZAPATA, DIEGO MAURICIO FRANCO ALVAREZ, at La Celia, inside the Las Cabañas bar.   Author:  unknown.

 

1/2       VALLE                   Four persons murdered:  JAIR GARCIA LOPEZ, MARIA DEL CARMEN PEÑA, JIMY GARCIA, JOSE ALBERTO GARCIA LOPEZ, in Naranjal district on the La Esperanza farm.  Author:  Unknown.

 

1/2       VALLE                   Four persons murdered:  DUMAR HENAO MEZA, OLIMPO GARCIA AYALA, LUIS ALFONSO BOLAÑOS VARELA, DIEGO RENGIFO BEJARANO, in Cali, at the intersection of Avenida 6 and Calle 24.  Author:  unknown.

 

1/2       CALDAS                 Four people killed:  JOHN JAIRO MEJIA GOMEZ, NELSON MEJIA GOMEZ, HERNAN BALLEN OSORIO, MARIO ROSMIRA PUERTA MOLINA.  Wounded:  ALONSO SANCHEZ ZAPATA, in La Dorada. Author:  unknown.

 

1/3       GUAJIRA                Four persons murdered:  JORGE OCHOA NEGRETE, ELKIS OCHOA NEGRETE and two unidentified persons, in Riohacha, Tomarrazón district.  Author:  unknown.  


1/5       ATLANTICO            Five persons murdered:  GEOVANY RAFAEL NIEBLES OLIVARES, SERGIO ANTONIO NIEBLES OLIVARES, ANGELA MARIA CHARRIS BARRIOS, FREDY ROLONGA SANDOVAL, and another unidentified person, in Barranquilla, Villa Estadio district.  Author:  unknown.

 

1/6       GUAJIRA                Four persons murdered:  CATALINO FONTALVO CORPAS, BALTASAR VILLEGAS CASTILLO, MARTIN FONTALVO VILLEGAS, GEOVANNY FONTALVO VILLEGAS, in Maicao, Carrapia district.  Author:  BAND OF HIRED KILLERS.

 

1/6       ANTIOQUIA            Five persons murdered:  MIGUEL VELASQUEZ CAVIARES, GIOVANNY ZAPATA TABORDA, JOHN JAVIER CASTAÑEDA VELEZ, JOAQUIN EMILIO VELEZ PUERTA, HUMBERTO DE JESUS VELEZ PUERTA.  Wounded:  CARLOS ALBERTO VALLEJO RAMIREZ in Bello, Maruchenga district.  Author:  POPULAR MILITIA.

 

1/24     SANTANDER            Five people murdered:  CARLOS ALBERTO ALVAREZ AHUMADA, GUSTAVO ROJAS ORTIZ, HUMBERTO ATENCIA CANCHILA, JOSE DOLORES SILVA QUIÑONES, PABLO EMILIO PINTO FRANCO.  Wounded:  EDISON SILVA BADILLO, LUIS ALFONSO ACUÑA CONEZ, LUIS JOSE ARIZA SANTANA, DANIEL NEIRA ARENAS, Barrancabermeja, Esperanza district.  Author:  BAND OF HIRED KILLERS.

 

1/29     CAQUETA               Five people murdered:  JOSE VERENELDO FERNANDEZ, GILDARO SANCHEZ PEÑA, GUILLERMO DUSSAN GRANJA, RICARDO MATALLANA, and one unidentified person, in Solano.  Author:  FARC.

 

2/7       ANTIOQUIA            Four people killed:  CARMEN ROSA BERRIO ARBOLEDA, DORIS CARDONA ARBOLEDA, RUBEN DARIO CARDONA, ALBA JANETH COPELAN DAVID.  Wounded:  JESUS MARIA BERRIO, JESUS ANTONIO BERRIO SEPULVEDA, MATILDE ARBOLEDA VALLEJO, at Highway 70, Street 98, in the Castilla neighborhood of Medellín.  Author:  POPULAR MILITIA.

 

2/9       SANTANDER           Five people killed:  JOSE DOMINGO AMAYA PARRA (Vice President of the San Silvestre Transport Union), JAIME CACERES NUÑEZ, PABLO NARVAEL, NUBIA LOZANO DE NARVAEL, EDUVIGES LOPEZ RUIZ.  Wounded:  LUIS GUILLERMO NIÑO BERMEO, ANA DE JESUS DURAN, MARIA DEL CARMEN FONCE ARCINIEGAS, MARIA VIAZ VALETA, on a soccer field in Barrancabermeja.  Author:  unknown.

 

2/10     CASANARE             Four people killed:  LUIS ALBERTO LOPEZ JARA, YOLIMA LOPEZ CHAVITA, ZORAIDA LOPEZ CHAVITA, JORGE CESAR LOPEZ CHAVITA.  Wounded:  EMILSE CHAVITA GUANARO, LUIS ALBERTO LOPEZ CHAVITA, EYER ALBERTO LOPEZ CHAVITA, in Yopal, Flor Amarilla ranch.  Author:  unknown.

 

 

2/15     SANTANDER           Murder of nine people:  EDUARDO MOSQUERA CUBIDES, EMILIO GARCIA PARDO, ROSA ISABEL AGUILAR, ROSEVELT LUENGAS, EDUARDO NIÑO NAVARRO, MERY GARCIA PARDO, LIBARDO GARCIA PARDO, ANGEL MARIA PARDO, KENNEDY CASTRO,  Cimitarra, the village of La Piedra.  Author:  BAND OF HIRED KILLERS

 

2/16     META                    Four people killed:  JOSE MARTIN CORTES BEJARANO, JOSE YESID CORTES REYES, FERNANDO CORTES REYES, CESAR AUGUSTO CORTES REYES.  Cubarral, village of La Central.  Author:  FARC.

 

2/16     ANTIOQUIA            Murder of four persons:  FRANCISCO ANTONIO DAVID VARGAS, JOHN JAIRO VANEGAS LONDOÑO, ALEXANDER DE JESUS SALDARRIAGA, GABRIEL JAIME MARIN ZAPATA.  Wounded:  ISRAEL ANTONIO HENAO MARIN, HUMBERTO DE JESUS TABORDA TABORDA, ECHAVARRIA ECHAVARRIA LUZ MERY, WILMAR EDISON ROJAS, in the Marichuela district of Bello.  Author:  BAND OF HIRED KILLERS.

 

2/16     META                    Four unidentified persons murdered in Cumaral, San Nicolás Inspection.  Author:  Unknown.

 

2/17     NARIÑO                 Six persons murdered:  ABELARDO WANGA PAY, OLGA PAY, FLORENCIA WANGA PAY, ARMANDO WANGA PAY, ARTURO WANGA PAY, ORLANDO WANGA PAY, in Tumaco, village of Suarazanga, Llorente district.  Author:  unknown.

 

2/26     ANTIOQUIA            Four persons murdered:  SIGIFREDO HERRERA TABORDA, HUGO ALEXANDER CASTRILLON GARCIA, HENRY DE JESUS TABORDA VERA, JORGE IVAN TABORDA VERA, after being abducted from the Versalles No. 2, Avenue 27, Street 68, Medellín.  Author:  BAND OF HIRED KILLERS.

 

2/27     CAUCA                   Four persons murdered:  LEONARDO MOLINA, ARTURO LASSO OJEDA, MARINO LOPEZ, NEVAR LOPEZ ALVAREZ, in Rosas, at Quilace.  Author:  unknown.

 

3/3       CASANARE             Five persons murdered:  LUIS MARIA MORENO CHAQUEA, EUMELIA BRITO OROPEZA, JAMID MORENO BRITO, ELMER MORENO BRITO, YAMILE MORENO BRITO.  Wounded:  DUMAR MORENO BRITO.  On the Los Bejucos ranch in the municipality of Trinidad.  Author:  BAND OF HIRED KILLERS.

 

3/22     VALLE                    Three people murdered:  LIBARDO DE JESUS VILLADA (Police Inspector), ANTONIO MARIA BEDOYA, HERNANDO RODRIGO GALLEGO, ALEXANDER BEDOYA HERNANDEZ, in the village of Tochecita-Tuluá.  Author:  XXX CUADRILLA FARC.

 

3/31     CORDOBA               Five people murdered:  WALBERTO ANTONIO PACHECO, NERYS DE LOS REYES NOLASCO LUCAS, MISAEL ANTONIO PACHECO NOLASCO, JOHN JADER PACHECO NOLASCO, JULIO TIBALDO TRUJILLO HUMANEZ, in the San Antonio district of Sahagún.  Author:  unknown.

 

4/2       ANTIOQUIA            Four people murdered:  LISANDRO OSPINA PIEDRAHITA, JOSE SALOMON CARDONA LOAIZA, JESUS ANTONIO CARDONA LOAIZA, CARLOS ANTONIO CARDONA LOAIZA, in the village of El Canelito, Cañasgordas. Author:  unknown.  

 

MASSACRES BETWEEN 1988 AND 1991

 

1988           70

1989           67

1990           69

1991           63

 

TOTAL         269 [6]

 

          According to information recently supplied by the Colombian Government, the number of massacres in Colombia in 1991 was higher;  it was 79, not 63.[7]

 

          c)       Acts of genocide

 

          On December 9, 1948, the United Nations General Assembly approved, via Resolution 260 A (III), the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime  of Genocide, of which the Republic of Colombia is a party.  It entered into force on January 12, 1951.  The international crime of genocide is defined in Article II of the Convention as any act committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

 

          It is not the purpose of this section to accuse the Colombian Government of the acts of genocide described in this report.  However, some reference must be made to the responsibility it bears by virtue of the foregoing:

 

          1.       Failure to honor the provisions of the American Convention that make it incumbent upon the States parties to respect the rights and freedoms recognized therein and to ensure to all persons subject to their jurisdiction the free and full exercise thereof; (Article 1 in relation to articles 4, 5 and 7, the rights to life, to humane treatment and to personal liberty);

 

          2.       Failure to properly investigate the systematic killing that constitutes genocide, with the result that the material or intellectual authors of the crimes have never been formally identified; and

 

          3.       Failure to punish the guilty, who enjoy absolute impunity (Article 8, the right to a fair trial).

 

          Moreover, because of these circumstances, the Colombian Government is also responsible for the fact that the innocent next-of-kin of the victims have been left unprotected and defenseless; they have not been awarded any kind of compensatory damages, except in the case of the family of the mayor of Sabana de Torres and the family of his bodyguard. (Case 10473).

 

The case of the Unión Patriótica:

 

          Even though it is not the only serious case of genocide in Colombia, the Commission believes that the massive and systematic assassinations of the political group known as the Unión Patriótica, is undoubtedly the worst of all for the reasons explained below.

 

          As a legal political organization, the Unión Patriótica (UP) was created on May 28, 1985.  It was the direct byproduct of the peace negotiations between the National Secretary of the FARC and EP guerrilla groups and the Government of President Belisario Betancur Cuartas (1982-1986).  However, the UP was not conceived as a political party in the strict sense of the term, but more as a movement that would serve as a vehicle for and give structure to the various manifestations of civic and popular protest and thus become a political alternative capable of changing the narrow rules of political play in the country, of achieving what was known as the democratic opening.

 

          While the Unión Patriótica was the political vehicle of guerrillas in transition to possible reassimilation into civilian life, it also had obvious election prospects; in other words, as the protest was being organized, the leaders of the protest were promoting themselves as candidates for the 1986 elections that would choose the new members of the municipal governments, departmental assemblies and the National Congress.  It was this that enabled the UP's  voter alliances to win 9 seats and 3 alternate seats in Congress, 10 seats and 4 alternate seats in departmental assemblies and 350 seats on town councils in the March 1986 elections.  In May of that year, Jaime Pardo Leal, a former magistrate and university professor, won 320,000 votes as UP's presidential candidate.  Initially the liberal government of Virgilio Barco acknowledged the UP's majority in various municipalities and therefore appointed 14 UP mayors.  In the March 1988 elections, the UP elected 18 mayors, 13 deputies and 5 alternates, and was able to keep the municipal-council seats it had won two years earlier.

 

          The UP thus became a figure in the political picture from 1985 to 1988; it was a political and social force that pulled the Colombian left, which had always been politically peripheral, back into the mainstream; while it is no real threat to the traditional hold that the liberal and conservative parties have had on the State's direction and administration, it is one of the most important organizations in terms of mobilizing the masses.

 

          In its first five years of existence (1985-1989), the violence against it was selective and relatively confined to those regions where it had greater political and electoral success.  The incidence of violence was highest in election years:  1986 saw 159 cases, and 1988 saw 212 cases.  The departments with the highest level of violence were Antioquia with 140 cases, Meta with 112 cases, and Santander with 91.  Not coincidentally, these were the very regions where the UP had the best showings in the 1986 and 1988 elections.  Finally, the most frequent targets were political and union leaders:  193 and 120 cases, respectively.  The most common type of violence was murder, which accounted for 614 cases, in other words, 83.20% of the total number of victims on record as of December 31, 1989.

 

          Among leaders elected to governing bodies in 1986 and 1988, the following were victims of violence: 2 senators, 3 representatives to the house, 6 departmental deputies, 89 town councilmen, 2 former councilmen, 9 mayors, 1 former mayor, 3 candidates for town council and 3 candidates for mayor.   These represent 16% of the UP victims during that same period.

 

          According to a number of human rights organizations, agents of the state (military forces, police forces and the DAS) are among the alleged authors of this violence, although paramilitary groups account for the largest share of the violence against the UP, at 73.84% (544 cases).  Hired gunmen, individuals associated with the underworld and repeatedly used for political violence are involved in 155 cases (21%).

 

          Although complete data are not available and what is available is not broken down, between January 1990 and June 1992 there were 292 cases of human rights violations, especially extrajudicial executions.  In the 1990 election year, the UP, already seriously diminished, was again the target of political violence, with a total of 90 cases.  Between January 1 and March 1990, in Antioquia--especially in the Urabá region--and Meta, there were no less than six massacres of three or more members.  On March 22, Bernardo Jaramillo Ossa, UP party chairman and presidential candidate, was assassinated.  With that crime, the violence against the UP momentarily came to a halt because the assassination prompted the national UP leadership to refrain from participating in the presidential election of May of that year.  The UP, which came into existence to open up political and electoral participation, temporarily withdrew from the political arena.

 

          The elections for the National Constitutional Assembly, held on December 9, 1990, did not seem to be the occasion of violence; but in the second half of 1991 and March 1992, which were also election times (for a new Congress, departmental assemblies, and municipal councilmen, respectively), violence increased again.[8]  It is obvious that it is not just participation in elections that triggers violence against the UP.  There are long-standing hatreds and political intolerance in regions like Meta and Magdalena Medio.  Perhaps the somewhat ambiguous position of the political leadership of the UP and of the Colombian Communist Party vis-a-vis war and peace in the country fuels the continual violence against its members and leaders, as they continue to pay the consequences of an armed conflict being needlessly prolonged.

 

Cases of genocide in the form of "social cleansing"

 

          The violence perpetrated on the pretense of "social cleansing" in Colombia takes its victims among prostitutes, street children, beggars, homosexuals, common criminals, drug addicts, vagrants, alcoholics, and other individuals considered to be on the fringes of society.  All these people are seen to have something in common, something that certain organized groups use as a pretext to practice their racist, fascist or neo-nazi violence.  In one form or another, these groups have managed to organize themselves so that they are now operating throughout the country, performing what they regard as their mission of purging society.  They see themselves as "cleansing" society of what they regard as human filth that soils society, constitutes a burden on society, and a blot on society that must be erased.

 

          Murders of this type became quite widespread in the major cities of the country.  In fact, they have become one of the most critical problems in recent years.  According to the news bulletin of the Interdenominational Commission for Justice and Peace, 273 persons were killed in 1983, 364 were killed in 1989, 267 were killed in 1990, 389 were killed in 1991, and between January and September of 1992, there were 420 such killings.  The bishop of Pereira, Monsignor Darío Castrillón, stated that in that city alone, 60 indigents were murdered in just 20 days between the months of July and August of 1991.  (La Prensa, July 17, 1991, p.12).  This complaint triggered a joint investigation by the Office of the Attorney General and the National Police, which resulted in the dismissal of 13 agents and 2 patrolmen attached to the Pereira Police Command (El Tiempo, November 23, 1991, p. 5B).  The record of Criminal Investigations of the Department of Caldas shows that one death squad murdered 325 "desechables" (undesirables, throw-aways) in Manizales in the first half of the year (El Tiempo, July 16, 1991, p. 1E).

 

          Social cleansing in Colombia has taken on truly alarming proportions.  According to the United Nations Rapporteur on Arbitrary Executions in Colombia, Mr. Amos Wako, "social cleansing" murders account for nearly 10% of the total number of deaths in the country.  "Social cleansing" is, for the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, one of the most heinous crimes committed, especially because its victims are so often helpless children, women, and people without any means of defense, nonaggressive types who pose no threat to society.  This type of social  eradication is a vile and inhuman act.

 

          One particularly gruesome crime that was more than just "social cleansing" and that demonstrates how vulnerable the right to life is, happened at the amphitheater of the Universidad Libre, Barranquilla Campus.  In March 1992 the bodies of 11 people were found.  They had been bludgeoned to death and then shot once in the head.  Also found were several buckets of blood and human organs.  All this was learned thanks to the testimony of Oscar Hernández, a trash picker who managed to save his life in a horrible episode that took place inside university facilities on February 29, 1992.  The eleven bodies were those of individuals who had disappeared in recent days.  Most were trash pickers or prostitutes.  The bodies were to be used by the medical students and the organs were going to be sold.  The criminal investigations conducted uncovered some alarming facts:  this had been going on for at least two years; 8 of the victims died from cranial-encephalic trauma and had been killed somewhere between ten and twelve days earlier; four of the bullets found had been fired by the guard's weapon; the wounds of two trash pickers who managed to survive were from the same weapons used to murder the other eleven people; some of the human remains belonged to a bricklayer who had disappeared in August 1990.  His body was being used in the medical school laboratories in 1991.  As of now, a number of university employees are under arrest and the criminal investigation is implicating several officials, former staff of the university and members of the police who provided the bodies to the university, a fact being investigated by the military criminal courts.[9]  

 

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        [6]  Human rights data bank of the Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (CINEP), in Mauricio García Durán De la Uribe a Tlaxcala, procesos de paz, Bogota, CINEP, 1992, p. 282. 

        [7]  See table of massacres in 1993, attached to this report.

        [8]  Guido Bonilla. "La violencia contra la Unión Patriótoca", Centro de Estudios e Investigaciones Sociales, Bogota.

        [9]  See Andean Commission of Jurists, Informative Andino, #65, Lima, April 1992, p.2.