JEP calls for hearings on ‘false positives’ in Valledupar

The Recognition Chamber of the JEP called on the victims to participate in three new public hearings for observations that will be held in Valledupar on March 9 and 10, and on the 23rd in San Juan del Cesar; and on the 27th and 28th in Barranquilla, within the framework of the Costa Caribe Subcase, which investigates ‘false positives’. The proceedings will be transmitted on the jurisdiction’s website.

After issuing the resolution of conclusions against the top officials of the Artillery Battalion No. 2 La Popa (BAPOP), accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, now the judiciary is concentrating on this same region to clarify new victimizing events documented between 2004 and 2008.

These are crimes that would compromise members of four units of the Tenth Brigade, attached to the I Division of the Army. Among them are the Mechanized Cavalry Group No. 2 ‘Cr. Juan José Rondón’ (GMRON), the Artillery Battalion No. 2 ‘La Popa’ (BAPOP), the Energy and Road Battalion No. 2 (BAEV2) and the Divisional Reaction Force (FURED).

In this second phase of the Costa Caribe Subcase, the Chamber investigates the criminal phenomenon from a broader perspective that will allow us to understand not only what happened in a military unit like the BAPOP, which for years led the ranking by presenting the highest number of ‘casualties’ in combat, but seeks to analyze the phenomenon of false positives in the departments of Cesar and La Guajira.

During the three public proceedings that the judiciary will carry out, at least 130 accredited victims will be able to comment on the versions given by 104 former members of the different units of the National Army, state agents not members of the public force and third parties civilians, for their alleged participation in these events. Among them, 19 lieutenant colonels and 12 majors.

Among the victims who will participate in these hearings, the Wayúu people stand out, who will intervene for the first time to refer to the phenomenon of ‘false positives’, the Wiwa indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta and relatives of victims who live in Barranquilla who They were allegedly transferred and murdered in other regions of the country.

The hearing of observations is fundamental for the investigative comparison process because it guides the participation of victims towards the early restoration of their fundamental rights. These stories are key to determining the occurrence of the murders and forced disappearances, their authors and the circumstances in which the crimes were perpetrated, clarifying the motivations of their perpetrators and the context or plan in which the attacks were inserted.

Through this space, justice contributes to giving a face to the victims, their suffering, their demands, and will also expose the individual, family and community damage caused by those appearing with their actions. In this sense, while in the voluntary versions the voice of those appearing was heard, in the observation hearings it is the victims who have the floor.

CONTEXT

On December 7, the Recognition Chamber concluded that those accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity of the BAPOP recognized their responsibility and provided complete, detailed and exhaustive truth before the JEP. After the recognition hearing and after a judicial verification process, the magistrate decided to present 12 of the 15 accused before the Peace Court so that the appropriate sanction could be imposed. The defendants will answer for 77 incidents in which 135 people were murdered.

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