Colombia’s former army commander, retired General Mario Montoya, is responsible for 130 extrajudicial killings committed between 2002 and 2003, according to war crimes tribunal JEP.
All victims were falsely presented as combat kills to the press, JEP magistrate Catalina Diaz told journalists at a press conference.
Montoya’s indictment was the result of war crime investigations in the Eastern Antioquia region while the retired general was the commander of the 4th Brigade.
According to the JEP indictment, Montoya was partly responsible for the extrajudicial executions in Eastern Antioquia because he ordered his subordinates only to report combat kills.
While communicating with his troops, Montoya ordered them to report “liters,” “rivers,” “barrels,” or “tanks” of blood,” notes taken by army field officers showed, according to the indictment.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)
The former general and his immediate subordinates additionally disincentivized and rejected the reporting of other operational results like arrests of injured guerrillas.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)
As a consequence of Montoya’s explicit and implicit orders, army units in Eastern Antioquia stopped reporting on operational results that weren’t combat kills.
In some cases, Montoya knowingly lied to news media to present victims of extrajudicial executions or military accidents as guerrillas killed in combat.
Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP)
Montoya and his co-defendants have 30 days to accept responsibility for their role in the so-called “false positives” scandal, which cost the lives of 6,402 civilians between 2002 and 2008, according to the JEP.
If the suspects deny their responsibility, they will not be eligible for participation in the transitional justice process, which includes their release from prison and victim reparations.