Four army officials were sentenced to 33 years in jail Thursday for the
murder of a civilian in 2005 who was reported as a guerrilla killed in
combat after being executed.
The four members of the Army’s 4th Brigade murdered 31-year-old Gabriel Valencia Ocampo in Argeli, Antioquia on October 4, 2005. They then placed two grenades, a walkie talkie and 150 meters of ignition wire next to his body and reported him as a member of the FARC’s 47th front who was killed while trying to set a booby trap.
The Colombian Army has come under increasing scrutiny since October of last year when the Government was forced to admit its troops had been murdering civilians to make the war against illegal armed groups appear more effective. 1,500 members of the security forces reportedly are being criminally investigated for murdering civilians.