Government of Colombia apologizes for military executions of civilians

The Defense Minister of Colombia, Ivan Velasquezasked for forgiveness this Tuesday for one of the thousands of cases of civilians executed by the military to inflate results in the midst of the armed conflict, in the first government act of this type.

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“I apologize on behalf of the Nationto the family and friends of Alix Fabian Vargas Hernandez and honor the memory of jorge vargashis father, who died without knowing the truth of what happened to his son and as a result of the negligence of the colombian state”said the head of the portfolio at an event in the National Museum of Bogota which was attended by senior military commanders and relatives of the victim.

The act took place by order of the council of statewhich in 2018 condemned the Nation for the murder of the 25-year-old, who worked as an assistant at a transport terminal and cleaned a restaurant.

Vargas lived in Tunja (center) but was found dead in the municipality of ouncemore than 150 kilometers away, supposedly in the midst of guerrilla combat with the public forces in 2008.

“Indeed, his son had been forcibly disappeared and then executed“, Told him Velasquez to the victim’s mother.

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace, that judges the worst crimes of the conflict with the FARCdocumented more than 6,400 murders of civilians at the hands of the military who presented them as fallen guerrillas in combat.

President Gustavo Petro He has been one of the biggest critics of the public forces for these events and demands that the responsibility of the governments of the time be clarified.

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Known in military jargon as “false positives”, the executions of civilians occurred mostly under the presidential term of the right-wing alvaro uribe (2002-2010) and are the biggest scandal involving the Colombian army. Officers and soldiers have confessed their participation before the court of peace, seeking criminal benefits.

The Nobel Peace Prize Juan Manuel Santos He had already apologized for this practice in June 2021, when as former president he acknowledged that the false positives were caused by the pressure that the military received to “produce casualties”.

The former president (2010-2018) said then that he knew of the crimes of the military he barely assumed the portfolio of the Ministry of Defense, in 2006, but that undermined the credibility of the complaints.

“Today is a day where I finally know will cleanse your dignity, a dignity that was sullied by the heroes of the country who swore to protect you”Diana Vargas told her deceased brother during the ceremony.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.