Jamundi massacre perpetrators to be disciplined for war crimes

[Judi Lynn]

Jamundi massacre perpetrators to be disciplined for war crimes
Thursday, 09 June 2011 17:29
Jim Glade

30 military officials will be disciplined for war crimes for taking part in the 2006 massacre of 10 anti-narcotics policemen in Jamundi, Valle del Cauca.
Colonel Byron Carvajal and 29 of his men will face disciplinary measures from the Inspector General for their involvement in the May 22, 2006 Jamundi massacre south of Cali in which the soldiers were bribed by drug traffickers to ambush and kill a squad of 10 anti-narcotics police.

According to the Inspector General, the action taken by Carvajal and his men that day was an act of war which violated international humanitarian law. The decision to discipline the men for war crimes better follows the philosophy of the Colombian Constitutional Court as well as international treaties the country has signed.

The measures are strictly disciplinary however being that the soldiers involved were sentenced to 54 years in prison in May of 2008.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/16870-jamundi-massacre-perpetrators-to-be-disciplined-for-war-crimes.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Early story: Colombia says soldiers killed antidrug police (Jamundí Massacre)

Colombia says soldiers killed antidrug police
Authorities probe colonel for link to major trafficker
By Indira A.R. Lakshmanan, Globe Staff | June 6, 2006

BOGOTÁ -- Suspicions that a Colombian military unit assassinated a US-trained, elite antinarcotics team at the bidding of the drug mafia two weeks ago have proven true, officials say, in a case that has badly shaken public confidence in the military.

~snip~
Questions remain in the Jamundí case about the extent of alleged collusion with drug traffickers within the armed forces, and how high up it may go. The arrests came days after the US State Department certified Colombia's human rights record, ensuring the flow of most US military aid to this country. Last year, Congress withheld some military assistance on worries that the Colombian government, which has waged a nearly decade-long campaign against drug corruption, was ignoring extrajudicial killings or cooperation between the military and right-wing death squads.

~snip~
Eight of the 10 police killed were shot in the back, and ``the crime scene was contaminated before investigators arrived," said an investigative official yesterday who spoke on condition of anonymity. Investigators suspect soldiers may have fired shots from the police officers' weapons after they died, in an effort to make it look like there was a confrontation, El Tiempo reported.

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