By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia — Colombian authorities have arrested a number of high ranking members of the Colombian military for involvement in the false positive killing scandal, including General Mario Montoya. Montoya is the former commander of the National Army. He is facing accusations of war crimes for his complicity in the “killing and promoting of killing of thousands of civilians.” He faces 40 years of imprisonment.

During his time as commander, the Colombian army is thought to have engaged in a number of extrajudicial killings – killing civilians and then reporting the deaths as paramilitary casualties. Troops were rewarded with bonuses and vacation days for high paramilitary body counts. At least 3,000 – 4,000 civilians are thought to have been killed between 2002 and 2008. Montoya was allegedly aware of the false positive killings, and failed to take any action or report it. 800 members of the Colombian security forces have been convicted of involvement in false positive killings, and hundreds more are still under investigation.

Montoya was detained on March 29 after being called for questioning by prosecutors. Prosecutors announced an intention to detain Montoya following the arrest of General Henry Torres for the deaths of a father and son, Daniel Torres Arciniegas (38) and Roque Julio Torres (16). They were killed in 2007 and reported as guerillas killed in battle in Casanare.  Torres was in charge of the military unit stationed there at the time of the killings.

Around the same time as the arrests, NGO Human Rights Watch released a report warning that the upcoming peace agreement between the Colombian government and FARC could provide impunity and allow perpetrators of false positive killings to escape justice. The cases would fall under the jurisdiction of the special peace tribunals. Under the upcoming peace agreement, those tried by the tribunals who confess will not face jail time and instead face a maximum sentence of eight years of labor.

Jose Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director at Human Rights Watch, has called the agreement “a checkmate against justice.”

 

For more information please see:

Colombia Reports – Colombia general arrested, former army chief called for interrogation over killing civilians – 28 March 2016

Colombia Reports – Colombia justice deal could grant soldiers impunity – 28 March 2016

Guardian – Colombia arrests army general decade after killing of civilians – 28 March 2016

Human Rights Watch – Colombia: FARC Pact Risks Impunity for ‘False-Positives’ – 28 March 2016

Human Rights Watch Analysis – Colombia: Prosecution of False Positive Cases under the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – 28 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Human Rights Watch Warns of Impunity Concerning Colombia’s ‘False Positives’ – 28 March 2016

Voice of America – Colombia Arrests Army General for Extrajudicial Killings – 28 March 2016

Colombia Reports – Why Colombia’s former army chief is facing 40 years in prison – 29 March 2016 

 

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

CARACAS, Venezuela — The Opposition-controlled National Assembly of Venezuela has passed an amnesty law which would free a number of imprisoned opposition activists and end the legal cases being brought against others. President Nicolas Maduro, who heads the government-supported Socialist Party, has promised to strike down the law.

Venezuela’s constitution does not give the president veto powers. However, following the passing of a law by the National Assembly, Maduro has 10 days to sign the law into effect, or it is deferred to the Supreme Court. The Court then has 15 days to make a ruling on the law.

The Court is notorious for siding with the Executive, and has shot down most of what the National Assembly has tried to do since taking office in January, including allowing Maduro to rule by decree on issues related to the economy.

In order to declare the amnesty constitutional, the court must find that the beneficiaries of the law have committed crimes against humanity, or otherwise violated human rights.

Over 70 political prisoners would be freed by the bill, including Leopoldo Lopez. Lopez is considered by many to be Venezuela’s highest profile political prisoner. He was jailed in 2014 for allegedly spurring protests which resulted in the deaths of 40 people. He was convicted of “public incitement to violence and criminal association” last year, in a trial which has been called a “complete travesty of justice” by Human Rights Watch.

Maduro and his supporters deny that Lopez and others like him are political prisoners, instead calling them, “imprisoned politicians.”  Speaking on television hours before the bill was passed, Maduro said: “Laws to protect terrorists and criminals will not get past me, no matter what they do.”

Opposition politicians have stated that no one who would be released by the law has been accused of homicide.

 

For more information, please see:

Associated Press – Venezuela Opposition Passes Bill to Free Imprisoned Activist – 29 March 2016

Financial Times – Venezuelan congress passes amnesty law – 30 March 2016

Media with Conscience – Venezuela congresses passes bill to free jailed activists – 30 March 2016

Reuters – Venezuela parliament approves amnesty law, Maduro vows to veto – 30 March 2016 

UPI – Venezuela’s Maduro vows to veto amnesty bill passed by National Assembly – 30 March 2016

Wall Street Journal – Venezuelan President Nicolas Mauro Vows That Amnesty Law Won’t Stand – 30 March 2016

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SAO PAULO, Brazil — Former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was questioned on Friday as part of “Operation Car Wash,” the official investigation into the Petrobras scandal. Known around the world as “Lula,” he served as Brazil’s president from 2003 to 2010 and is widely credited with Brazil’s emergence as an international power. He is considered by many to be Brazil’s most popular president.

The Petrobras scandal was born of an inquiry into bribes at the state-run oil firm. However, the investigation was widened to include high ranking members of Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party. There is evidence that “scores of politicians and business executives” stole money from Petrobras. Those under investigation are suspected of overcharging Petrobras contracts. The money is thought to have been put towards Workers’ Party electoral campaigns.

Lula was detained and his home raided on Friday morning. His institute in Sao Paulo, and his wife and sons were also targeted in the investigation. Lula was released a few hours later. When speaking with supporters after his release, Lula said that he “deserved respect” and that the investigators were “disrespectful of democracy.”

Police allege that Lula took money from the Petrobras kickback scheme and laundered it through real-estate assets and his institute.

The detention sparked widespread criticism – even from those who supported his questioning, and sparked several clashes outside of Lula’s home in Sao Bernardo do Campo on Friday.

On Saturday, Lula supporters gathered outside of his home, chanting, “if you mess with him, you mess with me.” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff also travelled to Saw Bernardo do Campo to meet with Lula in his home on Saturday, in show of solidarity after his “unnecessary” detention.  Both Lula and President Rousseff have denied involvement in the Petrobras scandal. President Rousseff’s popularity has severely declined since the investigations began, and she may be facing impeachment.

Despite criticism, prosecutors stand by the questioning, saying that that Lula “holds no power that puts him beyond the reach of the Car Wash investigation.” The investigation has called both Lula’s political future and his legacy into question.

 

For more information, please see:

BBC – Brazil Petrobras scandal: Former president Lula questioned – 4 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Brazil Ex-President Lula Questioned in Corruption Case – 4 March 2016

New York Times – Brazil’s Ex-Leader, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, Is Held and His Home Raided – 4 March 2016 

New York Times – Snapshot of Brazil’s Web of Scandal – 4 March 2016

Agence France-Presse – Brazil’s corruption scandal anger spills onto street – 5 March 2016

Associated Press – Crowds cheer Brazilian ex-president after being grilled by police – 5 March 2016

Bloomberg Business – Rousseff Visits Lula as Brazil Supporters Stage Solidarity Vigil – 5 March 2016

Reuters – Brazil top judges back graft probe despite concern over Lula’s detention – 6 March 2016

CARACAS, Venezuela — Security forces in Venezuela are searching for a group of miners in the state of Bolívar who have gone missing. Family members of those missing from the Atenas gold mine are alleging that sometime between Thursday and Friday, 28 miners were rounded up by gunmen and killed execution style. The mine is unlicensed “wildcat” mine, and is located near to the town of Tumeremo.

State Governor Francisco Rangel first denied that “any person [was] killed or missing,” saying that reports referred to clashes between gangs fighting over control of the mines.  He accused the opposition of spreading “FALSE information about murdered miners.” Governor Rangel is an ally of President Maduro.

In response to Governor Rangel’s claim, about 300 relatives of the miners engaged in demonstrations over the weekend, shutting down a road running through Tumeremo that serves as an important link between Venezuela and Brazil.

“I’m not asking for justice,” said Juan Jose Coello, the father of a missing miner. “Right now, I’m just asking that they return the body of my son, so I can give him a Christian burial.”

The protests led Venezuela’s Attorney General to designate both a national and regional prosecutor to investigate the matter. Governor Rangel finally acknowledged on Monday that there was an official search for the miners. Family members continued to block the road through Tumeremo.

Some claiming to have witnessed the massacre and family members of the missing have accused law enforcement agents of playing a role in the alleged killings. Opposition lawmaker Americo de Grazia has also accused the state government of complicity.

1,000 soldiers were ordered to the area to search for the missing miners. There are conflicting reports from those who claim to have witnessed the attack as to what the gunmen did with the remains of the miners. Some locals allege that the gunmen drove the bodies of the miners deeper into the mine, while others say they were dismembered and removed from the area.

 

For more information, please see:

Agence France-Presse – Missing Venezuelan miners families protest – 7 March 2016

Associated Press –Venezuela Opens Investigation Into Possible Killing of Miners – 7 March 2016

Reuters – Venezuela says investigating alleged killing of miners – 7 March 2016

Voice of America – Venezuela Investigates Possible Slaying of 28 Missing Miners – 7 March 2016

BBC – Venezuela probes gold miners’ disappearance in Bolivar – 8 March 2016

Latin America News Dispatch – Venezuela Investigates Disappearance of 28 Gold Miners – 8 March 2016

Latin American Herald Tribune – Security Forces Search for Miners Reported Killed in Venezuela – 8 March 2016

Washington Post – Venezuela Congress takes up case of missing miners – 8 March 2016

By Kaitlyn Degnan
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America 

Nobel Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel has called for Obama to cancel his visit to Argentina, scheduled for 24 March. Esquivel is just the latest in a series of prominent Argentines, including the president of the Madres de Plazo de Mayo Hebe de Bonafini to criticize the timing of the visit.

24 March of this year marks the 40^th anniversary of the U.S.-backed coup, which led to a seven year dictatorship. The dictatorship lasted from 1976 to 1983, and about 30,000 people were killed or disappeared during that time period.

The date is a public holiday in Argentina known as the Day of Remembrance for Truth and Justice. Events are held each year to commemorate the victims of the dictatorship.

Esquivel won the Nobel Prize in 1980 for his defense of human rights in Argentina. Obama and Esquivel have been in communication regarding human rights issues in the past.

Esquivel does not oppose to Obama visiting the country, only the timing of the visit. “I think it’s great (for Obama to come) . . . The question is when and how.” He says he plans to publish an open letter regarding the matter in the upcoming days.

Argentine President Mauricio Macri says the visit “signifies a recognition of a change that has taken place in Argentina, towards good relations with the world, relations which must be mature, intelligent and mutually beneficial.” Argentina is, according to Macri “aligned with the United States in defending human rights in the region.”

President Macri has met with several human rights organizations in Argentina to assure them that Obama’s visit will not take away from the commemoration of the day, but they are still opposed to the visit.

Noah Mamet, the U.S. ambassador to Argentina, said the date of the visit was set in order to combine the visit with Obama’s historic trip to Cuba, planned for 21-22 March.

 

For more information, please see:

The Argentina Independent – US President Barack Obama to Visit Argentina – 19 February 2016 

Agence France-Presse – Obama visit shows Argentina mending ties: Macri to AFP – 22 February 2016 

Associated Press – Argentine Nobel Prize Winner to Obama: Don’t visit March 24 – 3 March 2016 

Fox News Latino – Outrage grows in Argentina over Obama’s planned visit: It falls on coup anniversary – 3 March 2016

Latin Post – Why Former Argentine Nobel Peace Prize Winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel Does Not Want Obama to Visit Argentina on March 24 – 3 March 2016

TeleSur – Nobel Peace Prize Tells Obama to Cancel Trip to Argentina – 3 March 2016