Studying and knowledge of the tragic past is key to managing Colombia’s political present and imagining a future. At least that’s what President Gustavo Petro believes, who put “total peace” on the pillar of his government. In this context, although there was no state intervention, a criminal complaint has just been filed. crimes against humanity He is none other than the general who came to lead the Army during the right-wing president Álvaro Uribe. According to this Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)The transitional justice mechanism derived from the agreement signed between the state and the FARC in 2016 to end the armed conflict, Mario Montoya 74 years old, involved in 130 cases “false positives”. This was the name given to cases of killed people who were introduced as guerrillas in the conflict.
The events in which Montoya was indicted occurred in Medellín, in the northeastern part of the country, while he was at the head of the Fourth Brigade. General of that time according to JEP he lied “about the death toll‘ and ‘excessive use of force’.
The head of this Army unit pressured his subordinates for promotion based on the executions presented as “combat losses”. But in addition, JEP accuses Montoya of: “glorifying” bloodshed. The court considered that “false positives” could not be “understood” without the Fourth Brigade commanders’ request for “better operational results,” meaning that what they were actually looking for was inflating the number of aircraft. “Security Policy” It was carried out by the Uribe administration. His government had begun in 2002 with the promise of doubling down on the counter-guerrilla strategy against the FARC, which it was going to inflict particularly severe blows. Uribe significantly increased the military budget to meet these goals.
JEP reviewed public and non-public documents to come to a conclusion that also affected the lieutenant colonels(r) Julio Alberto Novoa Ruiz and Iván Darío Pineda Recuerofour lieutenants, a lieutenant and a regular soldier.
The “false positive” scandal erupted in the final term of Uribe’s second term. In that case, Juan Manuel Santos He was in charge of the Ministry of Defense and Montoya was the Army’s main authority. The President had to get rid of the commander of the ground gun. Appointed as an award Ambassador of the Dominican Republic.
JEP’s view points to an investigation into “national-level decisions” over Montoya. The jurisdiction recognized in the 2016 peace deal is clear: cannot investigate heads of state, I still question them.
The JEP had blamed the FARC leadership before blaming Montoya. hundreds of kidnappings. It has not yet given its first sentence since it started operating in 2017.
Context of the allegation
The Montoya case is known amid the complicated course of the peace deal signed between the Government and the Guevarian-style guerrilla group ELN. mid sixties.
At the same time, Petro also expressed his desire to pass a “national reconciliation law,” according to the portal. empty chaircalling “To present an attractive offer to criminal organizations The government has been seeking rapprochement so that they can achieve complete peace for months.”