FARC documents seized by the Colombian authorities and published by Semana.com on Saturday reveal that an increasing number of guerrillas are being assassinated by the rebel organization itself.
Colombian military operations this year against the FARC have led to several prominent guerrillas being taken captive or killed and important documents being seized by the country’s authorities.
Amongst these documents were discovered hand-written orders by FARC leaders such as Hernan Dario Velasquez, alias “Paisa,” and commander of the organization’s Eastern Bloc, “Mono Jojoy,” ordering the assassination of hundreds of members of their own forces.
Documents confiscated during the army’s defeat of the Teofilo Forero unit of FARC’s 48th Front include orders for the execution of 180 of the unit’s own members, whilst evidence of a further 300 internal assassinations between 2005 and 2007 was discovered in the Jose Maria Cordoba unit led by Ivan Rios.
FARC leader Mono Jojoy appears to have ordered the assassination of 112 of his unit’s guerrillas in the first half of 2008 alone.
Semana.com explains that the guerrilla organization has its own form of a legal justice system. The guerrillas reportedly hold “revolutionary councils of war,” with cases presented by the prosecution and defense and punishments decided by an appointed judge.
The documents obtained from the FARC units revealed that members could face trial for “listening to the radio without permission,” “stealing a cigarette,” and “speaking during training.”
Files from the Teofilo Forero unit also reveal that “between January and November, 22 revolutionary councils took place and ended in assassination because [units] were infiltrated by the enemy.”
FARC deserters constituted a large number of those assassinated.