Colombian Military Admits Guilt in 200+ False Positives Cases

A total of 21 military personnel and one civilian who were indicted by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) of Colombia for acts of war crimes and crimes against humanity acknowledged their responsibility in the murder of up to 247 innocent young civilians to present them as guerrilla casualties in combat, in the case known as the false positives scandal.

In a press conference this Friday, the judge of the JEP, Catalina Díaz, said that after the indictment, 22 of the 26 participants acknowledged truth and responsibility for the crimes charged by the Jurisdiction.

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The JEP is a transitional justice body created by the Peace Agreement between the Government of the South American nation and the then Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP).

Among the 22 defendants who have acknowledged their responsibilities in the two indictments issued so far in Case 03, the false positives case, is retired General Paulino Coronado, the highest ranking military officer to acknowledge his responsibility.

Coronado, former commander of the 30th Brigade, presented what he called his feelings of forgiveness for what he called the great pain caused by the execrable acts committed, leading to the death of innocent people who were themselves as combatants, according to the JEP.

The first order on false positives in Catatumbo (Norte de Santander department, on the border with Venezuela), issued on July 6, charged ten military personnel and one civilian for their decisive participation in the murder of at least 120 defenseless people.

In the second indictment, in which two colonels and 13 military officers of other ranks of the La Popa battalion, based in Valledupar (northeast), were charged with 127 murders and forced disappearances in the Colombian Caribbean region, neither of the two high-ranking officers accepted the charges.

"#RightNow | JEP statement and press conference on #Case03, known as the 'false positives' case, begins."

After this step, the Jurisdiction will send the acceptance of responsibility of these 22 persons to the victims and the Public Prosecutor's Office for their observations and to initiate new hearings of acknowledgement of truth and responsibility.

Subsequently, the JEP will issue the first sentences, which are reparative with the victims and do not necessarily imply going to prison.

The president of the JEP, Judge Eduardo Cifuentes, highlighted the high percentage of acceptance of charges, as 84 percent of those accused have accepted responsibility in these two orders in the false positives case.

The JEP found in the two orders of Case 03 "patterns of macro-criminality" in the actions of the Army and alliances with paramilitary groups.

Everything was done to lure innocent civilians, mostly young peasants, and kill them to present them as guerrillas, thus inflating the figures of "combat deaths" and obtaining rewards and incentives from their superiors.