Impunity Watch: South America

Pinochet Victim Reappears

By Jessalyn Mastrianni
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SANTIAGO, Chile – The Pinochet military coup in 1973 led to the disappearances of over 1900 political prisoners. One of these prisoners was German Cofre, a member of the Communist Party and a city street cleaning employee. Soldiers pistol-whipped Cofre and he was led away from his home into a truck was taken to a secret prison. Cofre’s wife tried to see him but soldiers told her there were no visitors allowed. He was declared dead in 1991 and his remains that were wrongly identified by experts were buried in 1995. In 2006 experts established that the remains were one of 48 misidentified bodies.

However, Cofre was one of the lucky prisoners who was released. He fled to Mendoza, Argentina and established a new life and family there. His wife from Chile died last year before he resurfaced.

An investigation is underway, led by to determine whether Cofre lied purposely for his family could receive “a government stipend granted to victims of general Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorship. But there is no evidence that his Chilean family knew he was still alive.

Cofre showed up in his hometown of La Cisterna after 35 years of living in Argentina. His grown sons informed officials that their father had returned last week. President Michelle Bachelet was a prisoner of the military dictatorship as well. Many prisoners were not so lucky to be released.

For more information, please see:
AP – Alleged Pinochet victim turns up alive, sparking calls for investigation – 18 November 2008

CNN – Political prisoner, detained in 1973, returns home to Chile – 18 November 2008

Los Andes – Un desaparecido chileno vive en Mendoze hace 33 anos – 19 Novembers 2008

More Colombian Military Officers Fired For Involvement in Civilian Murders

By Victor Ray Garza
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia-The Colombian government has announced the firings of ten more officers and three soldiers in the widening investigation into extra judicial killings among the military ranks.  The new firings come less than a month after the firings of 27 officers for similar actions. 

The latest firings have to do with the officers and soldiers involvement in the disappearance of seven young men.  The bodies of the men were found in the northern province of Cordoba.  The group of young men are believed to have been victims of the military practice of recruiting poor youth to be killed in a staged effort to increase the body count. 

The new round of firings comes after the United Nations reaffirmed its pledge to step in if Colombia did not investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killings. Along with the investigations, Colombia has announced a series of measures aimed at cleaning up the military.

One measure announced is the requirement that all military officers up for promotion will be required to take lie detector tests as a part of the promotion process.  The hope is to clean out those military officers with ties to criminal elements and drug traffickers.  Many observers have blamed the military officer's ties to the criminal organizations for fostering an environment that allowed the killings of innocent civilians.  Other measures announced will provide the military with human rights training to help educate them on what constitutes a violation.  In addition, the Colombian government announced the creation of an "Immediate Inspection Committee."  The committee will have the power to immediately investigate all claims of human rights violations.

On Monday President Alvaro Uribe announced that "Transparency is the enforcement of the legal system, it's taking human rights into account. Efficiency without transparency isn't efficiency, it's crime."  The public stance gives hope to human rights groups that the Colombian government will bring an end to the military violence that has claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians since the Uribe administration came into office.

For more information, please see:

Reuters - Colombia fires more soldiers over civilian deaths - 16 November 2008

Colombia Reports - Colombia starts army accountability hearings - 17 November 2008

Radio Netherlands - Colombia fires more officers for civilian murders - 17 November 2008

Military Police Humiliate Prisoners

By Oscar J Barbosa
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SAO PAULO, Brazil - The Brazilian military police, which has been accused multiple times of excessive force, have been implicated in the publication of videos involving the humiliation of prisoners. The police allegedly demanded that a prisoner tell the camera that he was an ugly man while shaking his head; another detainee was forced to kiss a male detainee. The videos were recorded at the end of 2007, and then published on YouTube online.

The command of the military police in Pernambuco publicly condemned the events and promised to penalize the authors of the videos. The police requested that the individuals on the videos report who was behind the events, and help identify the responsible officers. The command also asked the public to report abuses of this kind to prevent and penalize future harassment.   

The Brazilian National Movement of Human Rights (MNDH) considered the police officers' actions to be a crime, declared it an abuse of power, and derided the impunity enjoyed by the perpetrators.

A member from MNDH, Ronidalva Melo, solicited the government, local governor, the military police, and the public ministries to discuss measures to control, and punish the officers responsible with the possibility of awarding damages to the victims.

The military police announced that the videos might have been made in June of 2007. The local commander, Captain Alfonso Queiroga, acknowledged the problem through the media and mentioned that some of the abusers had been dismissed from the force when he took office. Over 90 men had been dismissed, and about 45 had committed offenses of misconduct.

For more information, please see:

Globo - Policiais de PE humilham suspeitos em vídeo na internet – 11 November 2008
Portal Imprensa - PMs gravam cenas humilhando detentos e publicam vídeo no YouTube – 11 November 2008
Estadao - PMs gravam cena de abuso e colocam os vídeos na internet – 11 November 2008

UPDATE: Colombian Army Scandal Gets Personal; Soldier Says Army Killed Brother

By Jessalyn Mastrianni
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

[Image: AP]

BOGOTA, Colombia – The scandal in Colombia regarding civilian killings being called enemy casualties has affected the whole country:  the families of young men in the Soacha region, the twenty-seven soldiers discharged for their involvement in the cover-up, and the army chief who resigned in the midst of the accusations.  For more information on these stories, see Impunity Watch Articles from October 24, 2008, October 30, 2008, and November 4, 2008.

However, another victim has come forward.  This young man lost a brother.  But this story is different. Private Luis Esteban Montes was a soldier in the army.  Montes was informed that the army planned to lure a civilian to the camp in order to kill him and “register him as a rebel slain in combat.”  Montes went along with the plot until he met the civilian who happened to be his older brother.

When Montes tried to abandon the plan, his commander threatened and insulted him. So, he helped his brother, Leonardo Montes, out of the camp.  One week later, the army killed him anyway.  His body was found with three bullet wounds and a stab wound to his face.  The army called it a “guerilla kill.” But Luis Montes knew better.

Montes filed a formal complaint that triggered a probe into the death of his older brother.  This is one of 245 similar complaints last year.  The probe targets five of Montes’s fellow soldiers, adding to the “480 soldiers under investigation for about 1,000 extrajudicial killings during the presidents of President Alvaro Uribe.”

For more information, please see:

AP – Who to kill? Colombia army picks soldier’s brother – 13 November 2008

Semana.com – ‘The Army murdered my brother’ – 13 November 2008

Semana Con compromiso – Mataron a mi hermano a sangre fria – 30 October 2008

Genocide Charges, Bolivia Requests Extradition of Former President from the US

By Oscar J Barbosa
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

LA PAZ, Bolivia – In 2003, the Bolivian government sent thousands of troops and tanks to control riots and protests against then-President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada. The riots were a response by the Bolivian people to the free market policies of the government. The policies lacked a safety-net to protect the indigenous and poorest in the country from a sudden free market shift.

Reuters reported in 2003, that over 20 protesters were killed while the troops attempted to clear roadblocks stopping oil and food supplies to the capital. Then, the government had played down the death tolls, while the violence and disgust against Sanchez grew amongst the Bolivians.

It has been confirmed that the Bolivian military opened fired against protesters and over 60 were killed.

The protests emanated from the country’s poor Indian majority, the Aymara, who attempted to voice their concerns and needs in a government that ignored the indigenous population.

Sanchez de Lozada was a close ally to the United States in the anti-drug war. When the protests turned  ugly, Sanchez de Lozada was forced to step down in October 2003 and fled to the US where he has resided since.   

An official request demanding extradition of Sanchez de Lozada was submitted to the United States by the Bolivian government, who charged him for those deaths. The ex-president’s attorney, Howard Gutman, said that his actions “were constitutional, lawful and appropriate,” adding that the extradition requests constitute political harassment by Bolivian President Evo Morales.

AP reported that considering the somewhat strained relations between the US and Bolivia, as well as the close friendships between Sanchez de Lozada and Washington politicians, it is unlikely that the request to be granted.

However, the families of the victims, and those injured in the crashes demand justice, and those families wish for the request to be granted. The mother of an 8-year-old victim told the media that it does not matter were Sanchez hides, he will pay for the damage caused.

For more information, please see:

New York Times - Bolivia: Ex-Leader Sought in ’03 Crackdown – 11 November 2008

BBC - Bolivia in US extradition request – 12 November 2008

AP - Bolivia asks US to extradite ex-president – 12 November 2008

The Age - Up to 20 dead as troops quell protests – 13 October 2003

Venezuelan Businessman Convicted in the U.S.

By Jessalyn Mastrianni
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MIAMI, United States – On Monday, November 3 a federal jury in Miami found Venezuelan businessman Franklin Duran guilty of “acting and conspiring to act as an agent of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela within the United States.”  He was charged along with four co-defendants, Carlos Kauffman, Antonio Jose Canchica Gomez, Moises Maionica, and Rodolfo Wanseele Paciello.

The foundation of the charges was that the defendants attended meetings during August 2007 in South Florida.  The meetings took place with Guide Alejandro Antonini Wilson and continued until December 11, 2008 “to discuss the creation of false documents in furtherance of the cover-up” of a cash contribution to a political campaign.

The cash contribution was $800,000 in cash and was found in a suitcase in an American airport.  The money was supposed to go toward an Argentine presidential candidate’s campaign.  For more information on this please see Impunity Watch article from September.

The conviction stated that Duran acted on behalf of his government, namely President Hugo Chavez.  According to testimony during the trial, “Mr. Chavez wasn’t aware that Mr. Antonini was talking to U.S. authorities and … gave an order to his intelligence chief [Gen. Henry Rangel Silva] to silence him.  Duran owed his fortune to ‘business’ dealings with Venezuelans officials, and so he was apparently chosen to call on Mr. Antonini in Miami with both cash and threats.”

The campaign of Argentine President Kirchner was successful, most likely due to the secret contributions from her ally Hugo Chavez.  However, Chavez continues to denounce the trial and conviction as politically motivated by the United States.

Duran faces 15 years based on sentencing coming up in January.  His three accomplices had already pled guilty and also await sentencing.

For more information, please see:

AP – Closing arguments underway in cash suitcase trial – 23 October 2008

Magic City Morning Star – Venezuelan Convicted of Being Illegal Agent of Venezuela in the US – 5 November 2008

NY Times – Conviction in Spy Case Over Cash-Filled Suitcase – 3 November 2008

Wall Street Journal – Hugo Chavez’s Bag Man – 4 November 2008

Allegations of Past Human Rights Violations Surround Colombia's Army Chief

By Victor Ray Garza
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia-Major General Oscar Gonzalez Pena has replaced General Mario Montoya as the head of the Colombian Army.  The selection of General Gonzalez by President Alvaro Uribe has drawn criticism from human rights watch groups.

General Gonzalez takes control of an Army reeling from the firing of 20 high ranking officers followed by the resignation of Montoya.  The scandals give weight to persistent claims by human rights groups of government supported extra judicial killings.  The scandal has lead to charges that the practice of extra judicial killings is more than an isolated event but rather a systematic approach of the Colombian government.  These allegations have lead to concerns about the selection of General Gonzalez.

General Gonzalez was a part of the 4th Brigade where he served under General Montoya.  The 4th Brigade was the section of the Colombian army that first began garnering international attention for the large number of extra judicial killings occurring in regions under its control.  General Gonzalez took control of the Brigade in December of 2003 replacing General Montoya.  In 2004 the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights expressed concern over reports of nearly 1,000 extra judicial killings committed over a period of years by the 4th Brigade.  General Gonzalez continued the practice of rewarding body counts in the military campaign against guerrilla groups.  The military has been accused of turning a blind eye and in some cases colluding with right wing death squads in the region as they sought to profit from the body count reward practice. 

In his new role General Gonzalez has vowed to restore respect for human rights to the Colombian government.  He has stated that any military member involved in the killing or disappearance of civilians will be severely punished.  The military has created divisions within each brigade that will investigate and report directly to the President any claims of military misconduct. 

The policy and the promises by General Gonzalez reflect the realization that the cloud of government involvement in civilian killings threatens the mission of the war against FARC and other revolutionary elements in Colombia. To date none of the fired military officers have been charged with a crime.  Human rights groups hope that a part of the movement to clean up the military will involve an effort to bring justice to the families of those killed in the campaigns.

For more information, please see:

Semana - General Montoya's Replacement - 10 November 2008

Colombia Reports - Army chief announces severe penalties for army killings - 10 November 2008

St. Petersburg Times - Colombia inches toward justice in paramilitary killings - 10 November 2008

United States Cuts Off Aid to Colombian Army Brigades Involved in Extra Judicial Killings

By Victor Ray Garza
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia-The United States has announced that three brigades of the Colombian army will no longer receive financial aid.  The announcement comes after the implication of 27 officers in the extra judicial killings of 11 civilians. 

Colombia's right wing government receives $600 million dollars a year in aid from the United States government.  The money is intended to support the governments campaign against leftist guerrilla groups such as FARC as well as its fight to combat drug traffickers.  The financial support is part of an over all aid package known as Plan de Colombia.  The nearly decade long agreement between the United States and Colombia is said to be under jeopardy now that the U.S. government is under Democratic control.  The firings of the military officers may be the impetus to end the financial support to Colombia's military.

On Tuesday Colombia's head military officer resigned amid severe criticism for the revelation of military involvement in the extra judicial killings of hundreds of civilians.  The admissions and firings come after years of charges by human rights of government involvement in the practice of killing innocent civilians.  The extra judicial killings by the Colombian government were part of an effort to raise the body count in order to continue receiving aid from the United States government and others. 

The recent announcement of the cut in funding to the three brigades implicated in the firings may signal an end to all military aid.  Democrats in the U.S. have already stated they wish to change the approach in Colombia to a more economic development centered focus.  The revelation of government involvement has also threatened the fate of the Colombian Free Trade agreement.

Colombian officials for their part have announced efforts to clean up what they stated are isolated criminal elements of their military.  President Uribe has stated that every battalion in the Colombian military will now have a division to investigate accusations of wrongdoing.  However, the replacement of former military head General Mario Montoya with General Oscar Enrique Gonzalez Pena has already drawn criticism.  Gonzalez Pena also comes into the job with accusations of extra judicial killings surrounding him.  Critics claim this is proof of how widespread and systematic the practice is in the Colombian military.

For more information, please see:

Sunday Herald - Military commander quits over civilian killings - 08 November 2008

Reuters - U.S. says no aid for Colombia army units in scandal - 06 November 2008

Al Jazeera - US halts aid among Colombia scandal - 08 November 2008

23 Years Later, Colonel Faces Charges Related to the Hostage Crisis in the Colombian Palace of Justice

By Oscar J Barbosa
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – On November 6th 1985, 35 members of the M-19 guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá. The guerrillas killed the guards and took over 300 people hostage, including the court justices and employees. The group demanded that then-President Betancur be present at the Court for a trial, and upon his refusal, the President ordered the military to manage the situation. The same day, without negotiations, the military began retaking the Palace with armored tanks and multiple brigades.
(Photo: AFP)

After the military siege of the court, over 100 people died and at least 11 disappeared.

Various trials began in 2006 regarding the actions of the military. The trials aim to determine the level of responsibility of various officials.

Evidence surfaced that showing some civilians were taken alive from the premises by the military, and then were killed. Allegedly, many of the hostages taken by the military were interrogated (and probably tortured) in order to determine whether or not the individual belonged to the guerrilla group.

In her book, The Palace of Justice: A Colombian Tragedy, Ana Carrigan reported  that members of the Second Brigade witnessed the detention of various civilians in the Cavalry School in northern Bogotá. Colombian intelligence suspected the Palace’s cafeteria staff of smuggling weapons into the palace to facilitate the M-19 actions; these civilians were detained and questioned.

Carrigan had received a cassette from the Attorney General’s Office, in which Second Brigade officers attested that the cafeteria staff was rescued by the military and then escorted to the Cavalry School. At the school, the detainees were questioned and tortured; one of them drowned to death. The military allegedly dumped bodies in mass graves and used acid to burn the bodies beyond recognition. 

Coronel Alfonso Plazas Vega is currently being tried for torture and forced rendition in connection with the kidnapping, torture, and killing of the cafeteria employees.  High-ranking military officers from the late 1980s might also be implicated in this trial. Plazas Vega was the commander of the Cavalry School and coordinated the siege and rescue of hostages on November 6th and 7th of 1985. Back on 1985, upon questioning by the media, and asked why the armored tanks were firing towards the Palace of Justice, Plazas answered “we are defending democracy.”

The unanswered questions from the military siege had been ignored for two decades, and were only retaken in 2005 by the attorney’s office. In January 2006, Ex-President Betancur testified that he had been told about some guerrillas who were taken alive from the Palace, version which contradicted the military statements said until then that assured that no guerrilla survived. 

For more information, please see:

El Tiempo - Sin piso testimonio de coronel que dijo que cadáveres del Palacio de Justicia estaban en U. Nacional – 06 November, 2008

Semana – El coronel (r) Alfonso Plazas Vega, acusado de desaparición forzada, fue recluido en el Cantón Norte - 16 July, 2007

El Espectador - Plazas Vega habría mentido sobre paradero de desaparecidos de Palacio – 28 October, 2008

FARC Willing to Talk

By Jessalyn Mastrianni
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) announced on Tuesday that they are still willing to negotiate with a group of Colombians to discuss hostage releases.

FARC released a statement last month stating that it was keen on entering hostage negotiations.  However, days later, former congressional representative Oscar Lizcano escaped after being held for eight years in the jungle by the rebel group.  He escaped into the jungle with a “rebel deserter” until he found an army post.

The new communication this week assures that this escape did not hinder FARC’s intentions to negotiate.  It also declares some flexibility on their part, since originally the group had stated that no prisoner negotiations would occur under President Uribe’s administration.  FARC’s negotiations with Uribe came to a standstill when the rebels requested that the government create a safe haven the size of New York City for hostage talks.  Uribe argued that it would become a place for rebels to “regroup” and further organize themselves and their efforts against the government.

Uribe’s administration responded with willingness to discuss a prisoner swap, but its reputation is to decline these types of meetings.  According to CNN, since FARC is at its weakest taking multiple serious blows to its highest leaders as well as the successful high-profile rescue mission this summer, Uribe seems to favor winning the war against FARC rather than negotiating.

FARC’s intention is to “participate before the people in a dialogue with comprehensiveness and frankness, without dogmatism, without sectarianism and without disqualifying the themes that they suggest.”  The goal is to “allow us to identify the terms to set an adenta to clarify the route toward an understand regarding a hostage exchange.”

“The group of prominent Colombians offering talks is led by Sen. Piedad Cordoba, a leftists politician” who helped Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez negotiate the voluntary release of six hostages earlier this year.  The group also consists of academics,

For more information, please see:

CNN – Colombian rebels offer hostage talks – 28 October 2008

Reuters – Colombian rebels say open to hostage dialogue – 29 October 2008

Reuters - Colombian rebels still keen for talks on hostages – 4 November 2008