Colombia’s prosecutor general declared the 1990 assassination of demobilized M-19 guerrilla and presidential candidate, Carlos Pizarro Leongomez, a “crime against humanity”, reports Radio Sante Fe.
The former M-19 commander’s murder was part of a systematic operation by the AUC against their opponents on the left, according to the prosecutor general’s human rights unit.
The declaration of the assassination as a “crime against humanity” means that the unsolved case will remain open. The 20-year deadline for keeping the case open was due to expire in a week.
In January, Colombia’s Inspector General’s Office requested an investigation into ex-DAS intelligence chief, Alberto Romero, regarding his alleged involvement in the murder of the former M-19 boss.
Romero claimed that drug traffickers were trying to frame him for the former guerrilla’s death.
Pizarro Leongomez was assassinated during his presidential campaign while traveling on a Avianca flight on April 26, 1990.