By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – According to Colombian President Alvaro Uribe, the Colombian military killed nine rebels in a fierce battle on Monday in the southern part of Caqueta, in the Amazonian region. 

Colombian officials stated that the Colombian Air Force and Joint Task Force OMEGA located a rebel camp run by Rodolfo Atanas and took action.  During the attack, Colombian armed forces seized a 60 mm mortar, guns and radio communication equipment.

This attack comes on the heels of another attack on a rebel camp on Sunday, which occurred in the central state of Tolima and claimed the lives of 12 rebels. 

In what proved to be a bloody day in Colombia’s constant fight against guerrilla groups, ten Colombian soldiers were also killed Sunday in a separate battle with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) in the Arauca state in northeastern Colombia.  The FARC, Colombia’s largest rebel group, is said to have 8,000 fighters.

According to President Uribe’s website, a female rebel leader known as “Maryeri” was among those killed on Sunday.  Maryeri is said to be responsible for as many as 70 Colombian soldiers’ deaths spanning the past eight years.  Additionally, the rebel group targeted on Sunday is responsible for more than 30 attacks in the Tolima area over the past two years.

In Arauca state, Colombian soldiers approached members of the rebel group as the guerrillas were attempting to blow up an electric plant.  When the rebels spotted the Colombian military, a gun fight broke out, killing ten Colombian military officials.

The Colombian government has been battling the FARC, as well as other paramilitary rebel groups, since the mid-1960’s.  Many of these groups use the drug trade, as well as extortion, to finance their activities.  The FARC also routinely capture people and holds them hostage in exchange for ransom.  In March, the FARC released one hostage and in June, Colombian officials successfully rescued four additional hostages.

The FARC appears to be stepping up activities with the approach of the August 7 presidential inauguration of former Defense Minister Juan Manuel Santo.  The weekend’s clashes between Colombian security forces and rebels left a total of 31 people dead. However, it is being hailed as a significant blow to the FARC’s southern bloc.

For more information, please see:

CNN – Colombian Army Kills 12 FARC Rebels, president says – 12 June 2010

Colombia Reports – Army Kills 9 FARC guerrillas in Caqueta – 12 June 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune – Colombian Troops Kill 9 Rebels – 11 June 2010

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – President-elect, former defense minister Juan Manuel Santos, may be taking the high office in August, replacing the popular Alvaro Uribe, as the UN vows to investigate Santos’ and Uribe’s involvement in many civilian deaths.
 
Santos, as defense minister in the Uribe administration from 2006–2009, was in charge of the Colombian military during the height of its alleged “false positives” policy of murdering civilians. Army units allegedly killed civilians to give a false representation of combat fatalities during armed encounters against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
 
One of Santos’ primary responsibilities included leading Uribe’s mission to rid Colombia of the FARC in an effort to restore peace and security. The mission was a success insofar as it forced FARC out of urban areas and into the jungles, reducing the number of kidnapping and killings in the cities.  Colombia praised Uribe for his efforts and many even consider him “the man who saved Colombia.”
 
However, many families of missing individuals notified human rights organizations with concerns over the reasons for their disappearance and alleged that military gains over FARC were being boosted by what became known as “false positive” killings of innocent civilians.
 
Investigations following those allegations resulted in the removal of the chief of the Colombian military and 27 other officers. Santos, however, kept his post and maintains that the killings were not ordered by the government but acts committed by individual soldiers.

UN investigators openly challenge Santos’ account and believe that while the Colombian government has taken steps to prevent such killings, over 98% of the deaths remain unpunished.
 
The UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Killings, Philip Alston, wrote in a report presented to the UN Human Rights Council last month that “[t]here have been too many killings of a similar nature to characterize them as isolated incidents carried out by individual rogue soldiers or units, or bad apples. Soldiers simply knew that they could get away with murder, he added.
 
Uribe, taking a slightly different approach than Santos has argued that the use of all necessary force to combat FARC was worth it.  He claims that the ends justified the means.
 
Human rights and UN officials are apprehensive about Santos’ ascent to the Presidency. Having been the head of Uribe’s FARC offensive in the past, he is likely to continue on the same course and time will only tell if the unjustified killings continue, and whether those responsible for past killings are brought to justice.

For more information, please see:

Guardian.Co.UK – Juan Manuel Santos Wins Colombia Presidential Election – 21 June 2010

BBC – Challenges Ahead For Colombia’s President-elect Santos – 21 June 2010

Deutsche Welle – Colombia’s New President Faces Awkward Questions – 12 June 2010

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

MONTEVIDEO, Uruguay—A prison fire killed twelve people and injured eight early Thursday morning in Uruguay.  Three of the victims are in critical condition.  The deadly fire is considered one of the worst prison tragedies in the country.

According to a report by the Ultimas Noticias newspaper, the blaze began in Rocha Prison around 3:30 a.m. in Wing No. 2.  Mattresses, blankets, and wooden beds were quickly engulfed in flames, and gave off toxic smoke that damaged victims’ lungs.

“We’ve practically ruled out the possibility that this was an intentional blaze,” Deputy Police Chief Celso Sosa told the Buenos Aires Herald.  “Initial information tells us it may have been started by a short-circuit or by a piece of clothing catching fire on one of the heaters.”

Rocha Prison was designed to hold 60 inmates, but 120 are packed inside its walls.  Prison Commissioner Alvaro Garce told The Associated Press that such overcrowding is typical of Uruguay’s 28 prisons.

On Tuesday, President Mujica lamented poor prison conditions, stating, “Clearly, the growth of the prison population in recent years has caused overcrowding that goes against human rights.  How can we speak of rehabilitation if we have all kinds of inmates housed together and the better part of our prisons have become places where people are piled up?”

Mujica is no stranger to Uruguay’s prisons.  He was once a leftist guerrilla who escaped twice from prison during the country’s dictatorship.  Mujica wants to increase the military’s role in prisons and plans to send 600 troops to guard and regulate prison security.

An investigation will look into complaints that prison officials were slow to react to the fire.  The father of one victim blames the officials for the disaster, citing their “negligence.”  Ruben Cardoso, the father of a prisoner named Fernando, told CNN, “When the fire broke out, they delayed too much in opening the door.  If they had opened the first two locks, all the prisoners would have gotten out.”  When Cardoso last saw him, Fernando expressed fears about living in the prison.

Lethal fires are common in Uruguay’s overcrowded prisons.  Last August, five inmates perished as a result of a similar disaster, and two were killed in a different incident last December.  The UN has pressured the government to increase safety in the country’s prisons.

Interior Minister Eduardo Bonomi admitted that Uruguay’s prisons are in a “critical situation” and noted that the government had previously considered an emergency law to improve conditions in facilities.

The Uruguayan government is debating whether to build nine new detention centers, renovate jails, and hire 1,500 new employees to work inside the nation’s prisons.

For more information, please see:

CNN-Uruguay officials to investigate deadly prison fire-9 July 2010

Press TV-Uruguay prison fire kills twelve-9 July 2010

AP-12 inmates die in Uruguay prison fire-8 July 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina-Jorge Rafael Videla, a former Argentina dictator who helped to overthrow former President Isabel Martinez de Peron, is on trial for human rights abuses.  The abuses, which date from 1976-1983, include kidnapping and torture.  The trial comes shortly after another former Argentina dictator, Gen. Reynaldo Benito Bignone, was sentenced to 25 years in prison for very similar crimes.

Videla’s reign as dictator, often referred to as the “Dirty War,” was shroud with secret military prisons and torture centers.  It was not uncommon for Videla’s regime to capture leftist students, labor leaders or intellectuals and seclude them in one of these secret holding places.  Some estimate that as many as 30,000 leftists were abducted.

Just days into the trial, Videla, who has previously been found guilty of unrelated human rights abuses and sentenced to life in prison, took responsibility for the military’s actions under his watch.  Speaking to the court, Videla stated “I fully assume my military responsibilities for all the Argentine army’s actions during this internal war.”

Videla is one of about two dozen individuals who face charges stemming from human rights abuses during the “Dirty War” era.  Videla and his codefendants are specifically on trial for the murder of 31 political prisoners who were held captive and then shot to death when they tried to escape.

One attorney stated that there are significant differences between the previous cases against Videla and the present case.  The 31 political prisoners at the center of this case were jailed under the civilian government before Videla’s coup and were then murdered when Videla took power, before the prisoners had a chance to stand trial.

Miguel Ceballos, an attorney representing the victims, has a more personal connection to this trial than most: Ceballos’ father was killed under Videla’s watch.  Ceballos said, “when they came looking for my father at the prison, he knew he would be killed.  He said goodbye to his friends and left a photo of our family so they could tell us what had happened.”

Any added jail time from this trial would mean little to Videla because he is already serving a life sentence; however, a conviction would offer relief to the victim’s friends and family members.  Ceballos stated, “This trial has been a long time coming.  He is having the trial that he denied my father.”

For more information, please see:

Euro News – Former Argentine Dictator Speaks In Court – 6 July 2010

Philly.com – Argentine Ex-dictator Faces Human Rights Charges – 2 July 2010

CNN – Former Argentina Dictator To Go On Trial In Rights Abuse Case – 30 June 2010

By Ricardo Zamora
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America Desk

GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – The International Commission Against Impunity in Guatemala (CICIG), set up as a joint venture panel between Guatemala and the United Nations to prosecute corrupt officials, could be in jeopardy. The last few weeks reveal that not even the well-intentioned are completely free from political pressures. Escalating pressures within the panel have led its chief, Carlos Castresana, to resign and have resulted in the removal from office of the attorney general, Conrado Reyes.

Problems began in May when the then-new attorney general, Reyes, began to remove prosecutors and investigators working with the CICIG. On June 7, Castresana objected to Reyes’ actions, asserting that Reyes was tied to organized crime — assertions which Reyes denies. Nevertheless, Castresana resigned immediately.

Less than one week later, the Guatemalan high court removed Reyes from office, albeit on the basis that the procedures followed by President Alvaro Colom in selecting Reyes for office had not followed the law. As it turned out, both positions are crucial for the CICIG to work but were both empty.

The UN provided some hope for the project by quickly appointing Francisco Dall’Anese of Costa Rica as the new director of the Panel. Mr. Dall’Anese, as attorney general in Costa Rica, led corruption investigations of two former presidents.

Many Guatemalans believe that the commission is the only bulwark against entrenched power. For this reason, the government remains worried as it continues to struggle to find a replacement attorney general and is concerned as to who will ultimately be picked. The CICIG is clearly having an impact against corruption but the internal strife shows how vulnerable it, itself, is to the same.

Guatemalans believe that no place or person in Guatemala is safe from entrenched power. Two years ago when Vinicio Gomez, the Guatemalan Interior Minister, began investigating drug trafficking, he started receiving death threats. A short time later, his helicopter crashed, killing him. Alba Trejo, Gomez’s widow, has appealed to the CICIG to hear his case. Although in an unofficial capacity, Mr. Castresana nevertheless attended the news conference to support Ms. Trejo and to support Mr. Gomez’s case.

Several similar deaths and killing await investigation but any enquiries remain in limbo as the CICIC muscles its way back onto its feet. Its casework includes other cases of government corruption going back years in Guatemala’s history.

Several former officials, from Defense Ministry officials to ex-President Alfonso Portillo, are accused of embezzlement. Others, such as former police chiefs, are in jail facing drug-related charges whilst still another is charged with running and extortion and hit squad.

Castresana reported that in 2009, only 230 of 6,451 killings were resolved. The fight against impunity in Guatemala remains an enormous job for the CICIG and people like Carlos Castresana.

Nineth Montenegro, an influential congresswoman, stated that “we have a police force that is penetrated… a prosecutor general’s office that is penetrated [and] a president who appears not to see anything.” She added, “In Guatemala, we never know who we are talking to. I have to believe in someone, and I believe in him, in Carlos.”

For more information, please see:

New York Times – Political Struggle Strains Guatemala’s Justice System – 3 July 2010

Americas Quarterly – New CICIG Commissioner Selected in Guatemala – 2 July 2010

Guatemala Times – Carlos Castresana, UN Commissioner Against Impunity in Guatemala Resigns – 8 June 2010