A Colombian Prosecutor warranted the arrest of one army official and one civilian,
suspected of being involved in the kidnapping and murder of two young
men from Soacha in 2007.
The two victims were part of a group of eleven
men that disappeared from the town and were killed by the army days later.
According to the Prosecution, the two are involved in the disappearance and murder of Daniel Suárez Martínez and Camilo Andrés Valencia on December 6, 2007.
The day before, both victims had left their home to talk to a man and never returned.
Less than 24 hours later, the suspected army official reported the death of two guerrillas in Ocaña, a town close to the Venezuelan border and 500 miles away from their homes.
Preliminary investigations proved the two victims were no guerrillas and instead were the two men who had been reported as missing by their families in Soacha.
Another nine men from Soacha were found killed in Ocaña under similar circumstances.
The results of the investigation caused a wave of revelations about the army killing innocent civilians to report them as guerrillas killed in combat. According to the UN, this practice was widespread and systematic and the Colomban Government — that had previously denied any wrongdoings by the army — was forced to dismiss dozens of officials.
According to Cinep, a Colombian NGO, in 2008 there were reports of ‘false positives’ in 19 of Colombia’s 32 departments.
The Prosecution allegedly is investigating hundreds of members of the military for ‘false positives’.