Colombia Government Issues Apology Over Extrajudicial Killings of 19 Civilians Falsely Accused as Rebels

The government of Colombia, led by Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez, issued a long-awaited apology to the relatives of 19 young civilians killed in extrajudicial killings between 2004 and 2008. These young civilians were mistaken to be part of armed rebel groups and were shot and killed by Colombian authorities.

"These (killings) should have never happened," said Minister Velasquez during an event in front of Colombia's congress. The event was also attended by relatives of the victims as they posed for pictures with high-ranking government officials.

"We ask you to forgive us for these crimes that embarrass us in front of the world," the minister told the relatives.

The apology came as Colombia tried to make amends with communities affected by decades of armed conflict as part of President Gustavo Petro's "Total Peace" initiative. This also comes as the government tries to make peace with ELN rebels.

According to the Associated Press, around when the killings took place, the Colombian military intensified its campaign against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. The group ultimately surrendered to the government in 2016, leaving the ELN as the last major rebel group remaining.

Courts around Colombia have ordered the government to issue apologies for each of these 19 cases, which have been dubbed locally as "false positives." The government has since implemented several reparation measures since 2015. These include prison sentences for some of the soldiers and officers involved.

Several administrations, including Presidents Juan Manuel Santos and Ivan Duque, skirted around these judicial orders and were reluctant to recognize that the military was responsible for war crimes and human rights violations.

Colombia Behind 6,402 Possible Extrajudicial Killings Through the Years

These "false positives" in Colombia do not just include the 19 young individuals, a peace court found that 6,402 civilians were killed by the military between 2002 and 2008. These victims were then passed off as enemy combatants in official records, but in reality, they were civilian casualties.

According to the BBC, the victims were mostly young men from poor families. They were falsely targeted by the Colombian Army and were passed off as members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). This was all to boost its kill rate and give the impression that the military was winning against the rebel group.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) carried out the investigation into the killings. It was also responsible for investigating kidnappings carried out by the FARC rebels.

How Colombia's Troops Carried Out the Extrajudicial Killings

Colombia's courts never fully investigated the "false positive" extrajudicial killings until the special tribunal, which found that there was pressure to increase their body count numbers from military higher-ups.

"There was constant pressure from our superiors, including the army commander, to produce combat deaths," said one of the defendants, Lt. Col. Alvaro Tamayo.

Tamayo was part of a military unit assigned to the town of Ocaña, where many of the false positive killings took place.

According to NPR, the defendants testified that they were told "'Good' officers produced bigger body counts. 'Bad' officers didn't." The Lt. Colonel admitted, "This generated psychological pressure and fear of being demoted or expelled from the army for a lack of operational results."

This forced the military to lure poor, unemployed young men with promises of jobs before gunning them down.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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