A former paramilitary commander and a former FARC leader could be tried for sex crimes committed by their subordinates, on Monday said Colombia’s Deputy Prosecutor General.
According to the Prosecutor General’s Office, the former AUC commander Hernan Giraldo could be held responsible for thousands of sexual crimes committed against civilians during his time as commander of the AUC’s “Tayrona Resistance Bloc.”
Giraldo demobilized in 2006 as a part of the Justice and Peace agreement with the Colombian government. He was extradited to the United States in 2008 on charges of drug trafficking.
Meanwhile, Karina, a former leader of the FARC’s 47th Front who surrendered in 2008, could be put on trial for ordering forced abortions.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said these and other commanders used sexual violence as an “organized and deliberate weapon of war.”
According to local media, this would be the first time that the Prosecutor General has held superiors responsible for sex crimes committed by their subordinates.