New threats have been made against the mothers of soldiers accused of Soacha’s ‘false positives’ murders, as well as against the municipality’s ombudsman, reported radio station Caracol on Tuesday.
It has been confirmed that during the weekend one of the mothers received a menacing letter at her home, which referred to the women as “old whiners” and proceeded to threatened a local NGO and Soacha’s ombudsman Fernando Escobar.
There have already been eleven threats made against the eight families of the accused soldiers, as well as others made against Fernando Escobar.
The mothers of the soldiers accused of the extrajudicial killings are currently receiving no protection from the Colombian government – something that the municipality’s ombudsman insists ought to be offered.
“We urge the authorities to ensure an immediate response as to the security of these families,” he told Colombian media.
This follows the recent news that the accused soldiers have received visits from their families and luxury spa treatments whilst they await jurisdiction in central military bases.
The military suspects were recently released from prison after a judge ruled the prosecution had not called the soldiers to trial on time. They are awaiting trial in one of the country’s biggest scandals, involving members of the armed forces murdering civilians and reporting them as guerrillas killed in action, in order to make the war against left-wing guerrilla groups look more effective.