TRUTH COMMISSION SAYS PABLO ESCOBAR PAID LEFTIST

UNCLAS BOGOTA 010625 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KJUS CO SUBJECT: TRUTH COMMISSION SAYS PABLO ESCOBAR PAID LEFTIST GUERRILLAS TO ATTACK SUPREME COURT IN 1985; OVER 100 DIED REF: BOGOTA 10596 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. A Truth Commission placed primary blame on the M-19 for over 100 deaths resulting from the terrorist group's 1985 attack on the Supreme Court, and said Medellin cartel drug lord Pablo Escobar paid them USD 2 million to commit the assault. The Commission's preliminary report also found the military used disproportionate force in trying to retake the Court. President Uribe contrasted his tough actions against paramilitaries with lax efforts by previous administrations to prevent their growth. End summary. -------------- -------------- Commission Says Escobar Paid M-19 to Attack Supreme Court -------------- -------------- ¶2. A Truth Commission said in preliminary findings released November 14 that Medellin cartel drug lord Pablo Escobar paid the leftist M-19 terrorist organization some USD 2 million for its "cowardly and bloody" attack on the Colombian Supreme Court in November 1985. The Commission, organized by the current Supreme Court and comprised of three of its most distinguished former members, conducted over 60 interviews and reviewed government and other records of the M-19 attack and military effort to retake the Court, during which over 100 people died, including 11 Justices. The Commission expects to release its final report in 2007. ¶3. The preliminary report cited Escobar associate Jhon Jairo Vazquez (alias Popeye) as revealing an "initial" Escobar payment of USD 2 million to the M-19, following meetings Escobar held with the M-19 in 1984 and other "joint actions" the two organizations had conducted. In his book, "The Real Pablo," Popeye said Escobar promised the M-19 USD 7 million to destroy the Court's extradition records. The report also cited testimony by deceased former paramilitary leader Carlos Castano to support its conclusion. ¶4. Senator Gustavo Petro (Polo Democratico),a former M-19 guerrilla who has sharply criticized Uribe's handling of the para peace process, strongly denied the Escobar financing charge. Former Senator Antonio Navarro Wolff (Polo Democratico),another demobilized M-19 member, also denied the charge, but said the M-19 attack on the Court was a mistake. Polo Democratico representative Wilson Borja alleged the report was designed to attack the M-19 and the Polo and divert attention from charges that current members of Congress are associated with paramilitaries. Commentator Rafael Nieto characterized Petro's remarks as demonstrating a "distressing zeal," while allowing that Navarro Wolff at least showed "a certain noble embarrassment" in conceding a mistake. In a speech on November 17, Uribe contrasted his tough handling of paramilitaries with previous administrations' lax efforts to prevent their growth, and called on all Colombians to come clean on their links to paramilitaries and assorted leftist terrorist groups such as the M-19, ELN, and EPL. -------------- Commission Criticizes Military's Use of Force -------------- ¶5. The Commission determined the State had the right to retake the Court, but said the military used disproportionate force. It asserted that then-President Belisario Betancur failed to take charge of the operation, leaving a leadership vacuum. Based on the report, on November 15 the Prosecutor General's office (Fiscalia) ordered the arrest of retired Colonel Edilberto Sanchez Rubiano for "forced disappearance" of two Court cafeteria workers seen leaving the building during the military assault; Sanchez protested his innocence but turned himself in the next day. WOOD