Who are the ‘Plumas’, a group that organized a beating of an alleged abuser of the TransMilenio?

The torture to which Juan Pablo González, alleged abuser of the minor, was subjected lasted about 27 minutes hilary castro at the station transmilenio of La Castellana, within the URI of Puente Aranda. The videos revealed in recent weeks show that the man was beaten by about 10 individuals deprived of their liberty and by one of the guards who was on duty that day in the cells of the detention center.

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As El Tiempo reported, González was beaten more than 50 times, his chest was almost completely fractured, and he had bruises on his legs, arms, face, and genitals. And all this happened before the eyes of three custodial officers who, as the videos reveal, never did anything to stop the macabre act. An investigator of the case told this newspaper that it is presumed that one of the guards could have given the order to beat González to death.

But beyond the fateful case of lynching and homicide, the questions that remain are: how does the hierarchy of power work within these detention centers? Who is in charge and what is the role of the custodians?

The ‘Feathers’

A report of more than 50 pages, more than 80 interviews with detainees and the analysis of several hours of video led the CTI investigators in Bogotá to determine the faces of the 10 allegedly involved in the death of González. Among them, two leaders of cells 4 and 5 on the second floor of the URI, known as ‘Plumas’, who were the ones who had direct contact with patrolman Marín, the main person involved in the events.

But how do the ‘Feathers’ work? According to the narration of one of the investigators in the case, these subjects (who may have been inmates in the URI for up to a year) are the heads of the place, the ones who make the decisions and are the direct link between the uniformed officers and the inmates of lower level.

“There, no one deprived of liberty can speak directly with the custodians, only the ‘Plumas’, and they themselves are the ones who decide what each of the detainees should do. That is a world apart (…). They execute and beat each other and no one can intervene, they cannot be given medical assistance if the ‘Plumas’ do not authorize it”, says the CTI investigator.

According to the investigations of the investigative entity, the leaders of the cells assign specific tasks to the new arrivals. “They are the ones who must do the housework, so to speak, they are in charge of cleaning, washing clothes, bathing, and they subject them to mistreatment. But the issue with those who arrive accused of sexual crimes is worse, because they are always beaten and mistreated (…) they are further down the chain of power”.

The investigator said that one of the people who has served as a witness in the case of Juan Pablo González was also a victim of the ‘Plumas’ when he arrived at the URI of Puente Aranda.

“This man was also beaten. He lasted five days being tortured without anyone noticing. According to the researcher, the influence of the ‘Feathers’ is so strong that they decide who can see their relatives, and when it comes to executing someone, they prohibit the custodians from intervening.

“The witness who was also beaten was not allowed to see the guards. When they went to count the personnel, they were only forced to raise their hand and identify themselves, but the ‘Plumas’ forbade him to get up from the floor where he slept. (…) So the patrolmen never realized the state of the man’s health, but of course they knew what had happened and why the victim only raised his hand and no more, ”he recounted.

The testimony

González had already been reported for allegedly showing his genitals in the Belmira park.

But there was key testimony to determine what happened on the afternoon of November 6 in the bathroom on the second floor of the URI. An eyewitness to the events recounted that Juan Pablo González was beaten from the moment he arrived at the cell and when they locked him in the bathroom, where he died, the guards saw everything and did nothing.

“They beat him very hard, on the face, stomach and back. They called him insults of all kinds. He could not defend himself because there were many (…). The policemen were outside watching everything because the bathroom door is just a curtain,” the investigator said about the interview with the witness.

In addition, he added that in the report from the Institute of Legal Medicine, it is noted that González was beaten repeatedly with a cylindrical object such as a rod or a stick; However, neither in the witness statements nor at the crime scene could this element be found.

But González did not die in cell 4, as was said at first, when the two detainees, entrusted by the ‘Plumas’, carried him on their shoulders, the man was already dead. “They passed him in front of the police and still nobody did anything,” he said.

But there is an even more terrifying fact. González spent nearly an hour and a half lying on the floor of the cell where he was left by the other prisoners; there, he did not receive official medical attention from anyone and it was another prisoner, with knowledge in nursing, who alerted that he had died. Even after that, the custodians did not give immediate notice of the situation either, the investigator told El Tiempo.

By: “El Tiempo”, from Colombia / GDA

Source: Elcomercio