A new ‘false positive’ case is under investigation despite government assurances that
there have been no more cases since a purge of the army, in which 25
soldiers were discharged. Both President Alvaro Uribe and Defense
Minister Juan Manuel Santos have said repeatedly that there were no
more cases of ‘false positives’ after October 2008.
The case under investigation was filed December 26, 2008 in Monteria, Cordoba in north west Colombia. It pertains to the murder of a civilian who was presented as a guerrilla killed in a confrontation with the FARC.
‘False positives’ is the name given to extrajudicial executions
of civilians by soldiers or police, who then report the victims as
rebels killed in combat, often for a financial reward.
Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santos said that this was the first case since October 2008 and that it was being investigated by the Prosecutor General.
President
Uribe said he thought the case was a false allegation made to discredit the security forces.
“There are unscrupulous individuals who seek with these false allegations to discredit the Democratic Security Policy,” said Uribe.
Both Uribe and Santos have said on numerous occasions in the past that many of the accusations of extrajudicial executions by the security
forces are false.
