Ex-Colombian army colonel confesses to 50 extrajudicial killings
Source: Colombia Reports
Ex-Colombian army colonel confesses to 50 extrajudicial killings
Wednesday, 29 February 2012 12:55
Arron Daugherty
Former Colombian Army Colonel Luis Fernando Borja confessed to 50 extrajudicial killings, known as "false positives," reported local media Tuesday.
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False positive refers to the Colombian Armed Forces practice of falsely reporting murdered civilians as guerrillas in order to cover up criminal activity and increase combat kill rates.
Borja assumed command of the Sucre Joint Task Force in 2007. According to the Prosecutor General, soldiers under his command committed numerous murders and reported them as combat casualties.
In his confession Borja pointed to a systemic practice of false positives saying, "after two months in command [of Sucre Joint Task Force] I learned that some casualties in the years prior to my command and some that had occurred under me were "false positives." I participated in this illegal operation, first because I prefer to keep my mouth shut - I feared for my life and that of my family- and secondly because I feared being fired from the army."
Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/22523-ex-colombian-army-colonel-confesses-to-50-extrajudicial-killings.html
