Colombian Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera on Monday said that the authorities will determine whether the military was responsible for the brutal murder of three minors in the Arauca department, reported Radio Santa Fe.
The bodies of the three siblings, aged 6, 9, and 14, were found with signs of torture three days after they disappeared on October 14 in the municipality of Tame.
Rivera said that the 60 soldiers from the 5th Mobile Brigade under investigation have been moved to the department capital Arauca, where they are being questioned.
“I want to emphasize how the army command took the initiative to launch an investigation” said Rivera.
The Prosecutor General’s Office announced ealier on Monday that the case would be handed to a specialized human rights prosecutor.
The police will turn over all evidence thus far collected on the murders to the specialized prosecution office. Commander of the Arauca police William Arcos said the cause of death is yet to be determined.
“Right now the investigation in this unfortunate case is advancing. Autopsies of the three children are being performed to determine the causes [of death],” Arcos said.