FISCALIA CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD ON SOACHA CASES

C O N F I D E N T I A L BOGOTA 002088 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/01/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PTER KJUS PREL CO SUBJECT: FISCALIA CONTINUES TO MOVE FORWARD ON SOACHA CASES REF: A. BOGOTA 2050 ¶B. BOGOTA 1845 ¶C. BOGOTA 1826 ¶D. 08 BOGOTA 3959 ¶E. 08 BOGOTA 3920 Classified By: Political Counselor John S. Creamer Reasons: 1.4 (b) and (d) SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) The Fiscalia has formally charged 75 individuals--72 army and 3 civilians--for the 'false positive' murders of thirteen Soacha residents. In courtroom statements, prosecutors have attributed the motive to the military's informal bodycount system. Victims' families report receiving threats. End Summary FISCALIA PURSUING SOACHA CASES -------------- ¶2. (U) The Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia) has launched seven cases involving 13 victims in the Soacha 'false positive' cases in which military personnel murdered civilians and subsequently presented them as combat kills. To date, the Fiscalia has charged 75 individuals (72 army and three civilians),including one colonel and two lieutenant colonels. Eight of the suspects are implicated in more than one case. Of the seventy-two soldiers charged, five--the three colonels, a lieutenant, and a master sergeant--were among the 27 members of the army publicly dismissed in October 2008. In their courtroom statements, prosecutors said the murders resulted from the pressure on officers and soldiers to show operational results measured by combat kills. ¶3. (C) The thirteen victims were all killed in Norte de Santander, the majority allegedly by the 15th Infantry Battalion "General Francisco de Paula Santander" of the 30th Brigade. The 5th Brigade's Caldas Battalion (based in Santander) and the 15th Mobile Brigade are also implicated. The Embassy's vetting unit initially vetted the 30th Brigade in September 2006, but in June 2008 the Embassy decertified the Brigade for both unit and individual assistance. The 15th Mobile Brigade was originally vetted in August 2006, but was decertified July 2007. The 5th Brigade has never been vetted, and its members were found ineligible for individual training in September 2008. FAMILIES OF VICTIMS RECEIVING THREATS -------------- ¶4. (U) Despite progress in prosecutions, families of the victims claim they are increasingly vulnerable. The Soacha Human Rights Ombudsman Fernando Escobar raised the alarm in June that family members have received threats warning them not to pursue cases against the GOC. United Nations Special Rapporteur for extrajudicial killings Philip Alston, reported June 18 that a brother of a victim was shot and killed after he became active in pursuing the case; the mother of the two men is now receiving threats. According to Alston, "this is part of a common pattern." ¶5. (C) Colombian National Police Commander General Oscar Naranjo told us he is concerned about the physical safety of Vice Minister of Defense Sergio Jaramillo, noting that his efforts on human rights--including pushing for the transfer of 'false positive' cases from military justice to the ordinary justice system--have alienated many within the military. Naranjo warned that some criminal elements of the military might try to kill him, and said he has spoken to Jaramillo about increasing his security. THE SEVEN SOACHA CASES -------------- ¶6. (C) The Soacha cases generally followed the same pattern: an offer of employment by "recruiters," transport to a distant location, murder, manipulation of the crime scene to make it appear as if the individual was killed in combat, and an official report claiming military action took place. Military sources report that personnel involved in 'false positives' frequently sold the ammunition allegedly used in the phony combat. Details on the seven cases follow. --Fair Leonardo Porras Bernal, mentally handicapped and unemployed, disappeared January 8, 2008 from Soacha and was reported as a combat kill in Abrego on January 12. Six members of the 15th Infantry Battalion of the 30th Brigade are charged. --Julio Cesar Mesa Vargas, a construction worker, and Jonathan Orlando Soto Bermudez, a minor and student, disappeared on January 26, 2008 and were reported as combat kills in San Calixto the next day. The victims arrived in San Calixto on motorcycles driven by two recruiters and were detained at a staged military check-point. Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel de Jesus Rincon Amado is accused of having provided an envelope to a subordinate with $1000 to pay the recruiters. The prosecutor said the unit reported that the "combat" took place in an area outside of its assigned jurisdiction. Seven members of the 15th Infantry Battalion and one member of the 15th Mobile Brigade are charged. --Diego Alberto Tamayo Garcera and Victor Fernando Gomez Romero, both unemployed, and Jader Andres Palacio Bustamante, a construction worker, disappeared on August 23, 2008 and were reported as combat kills in Ocana on August 25. Seventeen members of the 15th Infantry Battalion have been charged in their murders. --Elkin Gustavo Verano Hernandez and Joaquin Castro Vasquez, welders, disappeared January 13, 2008 and were reported as unknown members of a criminal group on January 15 in Abrego. The perpetrators placed an AK47, grenade, and revolver on the victims after their death. Eleven members of the 15th Infantry Battalion are charged. --Julian Oviedo Monroy, construction worker, left Soacha March 2, 2008; he was murdered in Ocana the next day. 500 bullets were reported used in the "combat" with Oviedo. Nineteen members of the 15th Infantry Battalion are charged. --Eduardo Garzon Paez and Daniel Andres Pesca Olaya were last seen in Soacha March 4, 2008 and March 2 respectively, they were murdered in Cimitarra on March 5. Eight members of the Caldas Battalion of the 5th Brigade are charged. --Daniel Suarez Martinez, a construction worker living in Venezuela and the only victim associated with the scandal who was not recruited from Soacha, disappeared on December 5 on his way to visit his children. He was reported as a combat kill by the Army in Otare the next day. Camilo Andres Valencia, construction worker, disappeared from Soacha December 5 and was reported killed December 7 in Abrego. Twelve members of the 15th Infantry Battalion and three civilians are charged. Nichols