The Criminal Chamber of Bogota‘s Superior Court ordered the Colombian Army on Thursday to issue a public apology for murdering a family of six, including one infant, in Cajamarca in 2004.
The court ruled that the statement must be issued in a public ceremony in the rural town of Cajamaraca, in the central Colombian department of Tolima.
“Apologizing to the community for the deeds committed by members of the security forces, implicated in a serious breach of international humanitarian law and human rights,” the court’s order explained.
Their initial defense was that they mistook the family for a criminal group, but when prosecutors proved that the soldiers returned to finish-off one survivor, their fate was sealed.