By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador—On a recent visit to El Salvador, U.S. President Barack Obama promised $200 million to aid the Central American nation in its war on drug trafficking and gang violence.  According to President Obama, this funding would go towards fighting the underlying causes of trafficking and gang membership, such as poverty and various social elements.  In addition to the $200 million promise, Obama also vowed to undertake new steps to increase trade and economic collaboration within El Salvador and Central America.

President Obama also announced the creation of the Central American Citizen’s Security Partnership after discussing the matter with Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes.  The Partnership is expected to fortify the court system within the country with the cooperation of countries like Chile, Colombia and Mexico.  The two leaders also discussed immigration, as two to three million Salvadorans live and work within the U.S.  Obama praised Funes’ “courageous work to overcome old divisions in Salvadoran society,” and said, “The U.S. wants to be a partner in this process.  We want El Salvador to be successful.”

Obama was accompanied by his wife and daughters on his trip.  He visited the National Cathedral in the capital, San Salvador, and saw the tomb of Archbishop Oscar Romero, a defender of the poor who was assassinated in 1980 after celebrating Mass.

Obama’s visit to El Salvador was the last of many visits to different Latin American countries, such as Chile and Brazil.  The visit was cut shorter than expected, as the president had to return to Washington early in order to handle the critical events taking place in Libya.

Though Obama’s promises have given many Salvadorans hope, some radical Salvadorans have been wary of the U.S.’s motives.  One student leader, using the alias “Ana Maria,” commented, “Obama is visiting El Salvador so that the U.S. can continue trying to control the Latin American region. . . .  [T]he reinforcement of the anti-narcotics division here [is] there to put down our social movements.  They are all part of maintaining a military position here—and we will continue to oppose it!”

The U.S. State Department lists El Salvador as one of the 10 most violent countries in the world.  It is estimated that last year there were almost 4,000 homicides in the country.

For more information, please see:

Axis of Logic-Dispatch from El Salvador: Obama’s Drug War Feels Eerily Familiar-5 April 2011

BBC-Obama pledges anti-drug funding on El Salvador visit-23 March 2011

AFP-Obama visits violence-plagued El Salvador-22 March 2011

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – According to Semana magazine, the military prison at Tolemaida base in Colombia is more of a resort than a jail with “privileges and comforts worthy of a hotel.” This particular prison is home to over 200 soldiers convicted of crimes against humanity. According to official prison records, 269 military and ex-military officials are held at the prison.

In January, a controversy arose when many of the prison’s privileges came to be known by the public. According to some reports, Major Juan Carlos Rodriguez, sentenced to 12 years for being security chief for the kingpin of the Norte del Valle drug cartel, is among the most privileged inmates.  The reports also illustrate that Major Cesar Maldonado, sentenced to 25 years for his part in the 2000 attempted assassination of Congressman Wilson Borja, is privy to special privileges.

Semena said that the prison “looks more like a club for rest and recreation than a maximum security prison,” adding that many of the prisoners are permitted to come and go from the prison at their own whim. The magazine’s report further alleges that the prisoners “have businesses in and out of the jail and instead of being locked in cells they live in cabanas.”

According to Army chief General Alejandro Navas, “the irregularities have been controlled and corrected, officials in charge of the prison were dismissed and some of the prisoners have been moved elsewhere.” Colombia’s Vice President Angelino Garzon has publicly the prison’s lavish environment. “It should be clear that individuals who have been convicted for serious crimes, including crimes against humanity, should not have any privileges,” said Garzon.

Rodrigo Rivera, Colombia’s Defence Minister, has adamantly stated that measures have already been taken to rectify the problems. In addition, Colombia is launching an extensive investigation into the prison’s conditions. According to Rivera, a full report on the investigation can be expected in three months.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Colombia Investigates Military Jail ‘Special Treatment” – 4 April 2011

Colombia Reports – VP Condemns Luxury Conditions for Jailed Soldiers – 4 April 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune – Colombian Soldiers Convicted of Rights Abuses Live in Posh Prison – 4 April 2011

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – According to media reports. a former congressman was arrested by the Technical Investigation Team of the Prosecutor General’s Office for alleged “FARC politics.” Pedro Nelson Pardo, former representative for Guainia, is accused of having ordered the extortion and corruption of the Colombian electorate during a congressional race in 2002. It is alleged that Pardo had an agreement with the rebel group to carry out this plan.

Pardo was taken into custody in Cunday in the department of Tolima and will be quickly transported to the Prosecutor General’s Office in Bogota. Pardo will then appear before the Criminal Court after which the court will determine whether or not to award him security protection which is subject to there being charges filed against him.

Pardo’s arrest comes shortly after the Supreme Court of Colombia opened an investigation into former congressman Luis Fernando Almario for his alleged ties to paramilitary groups while in office. In that case, Almario has been implicated in the murder of Colombian politician Diego Turbay Cote. Almario was also detained by law enforcement in February 2008 over accusations of “FARC politics.” He was subsequently released in May 2009. Almario has continuously denied the allegations, claiming that he is “a victim of the [rebels].”

Last year, Colombia’s Inspector General’s Office compiled a list of charges against Senator Piedad Cordoba in relation to allegations that she collaborated with the FARC outside of the parameters of her role as a hostage release negotiator. The investigation flows from evidence allegedly found in dead FARC leader “Raul Reyes” files. The evidence is alleged to support the notion that Cordoba was involved in “FARC politics,” specifically emails that discussed issues that were not elements of Cordoba’s humanitarian aid objective.

These cases illustrate the possibility of a widespread and systematic system of corruption in Colombian politics.

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports –Ex-Congressman Captured for “farcpolitics” – 1 April 2011

Colombia Reports –Supreme Court Opens “Parapolitics” Investigation into Ex-Congressman – 24 March 2011

Colombia Reports – “FARC-Politics Charges Announced against Piedad Cordoba – 13 April 2010

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – Francisco Ferney Tapasco and Dixon Ferney Tapasco, father and son politicians, will be charged with the planning of the 2002 murder of Orlando Sierra Hernandez, a Colombian journalist, according to the Colombian Attorney General’s Office. Sierra Hernandez was the assistant editor of La Patria newspaper; he was gunned down in January 2002 outside the newspaper’s offices in Manizales.

According to the prosecution, several key witnesses have linked Ferney Tapasco, the former director of the Liberals in the Caldas department, and Dixon Tapasco, his ex-congressman son  with the murder. The murder came shortly after Sierra Hernandez published allegations of corruption against the father and son.

Luis Fernando Soto Zapata, the confessed shooter, was sentenced to 29 years in prison, but was subsequently released after only six years on good behavior. The early release spurred large-scale protests by journalists across Colombia. Zapata ultimately was killed in a June 2008 gunfight with police in the southwestern city of Cali.

Francisco Ferney Tapasco is already serving jail time in connection with an investigation of his alleged ties to a violent right-wing rebel group in Colombia. His son is also previously served a seven-year prison sentence for paramilitary links, but left prison earlier this month.

The arrests of these politicians support the fears initially expressed by the Colombian journalistic community that the murder was politically motivated. Sierra Hernandez had been outspoken against what he perceived as corrupt politicians for years prior to his murder. In face, he the journalist was assigned bodyguards following death threats that he had received in 1998.

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports –Liberal Party Politicians Indicted for Journalist Murder – 29 March 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune –Colombia Politicians Accused of Journalist’s Murder – 29 March 2011

Committee to Protect Journalists – Journalist Killed: Colombia – February 2002

By Patrick Vanderpool
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia – According to the association of judicial employees in Colombia, 287 Colombian judicial officials have been assassinated and hundreds more were subjected to violence and intimidation over the past 20 years. Within the past two decades, 750 judiciary officers have been threatened, including 220 in the last four years, 42 officials have been kidnapped, 39 are missing, 39 more have been forced into exile and 31 were forced to relocate.

On March 22, 2011, the most recent murder of Judge Gloria Constanza Gaona prompted the National Association of Employees of the Judicial Branch to hold a public demonstration in the nation’s capital. Over 41,000 judicial workers attended the demonstration, which was held on March 25 at the Paloquemao Judicial Complex in downtown Bogota. Judiciary officers hung black banners from buildings as a sign of mourning along with displaying images of 160 victims in the square of the complex.

Judge Gaona was presiding over a case involving three murdered siblings in which Colombian army members are the primary suspects. Judge Gaona was shot and killed on her way to a municipal court. According to reports, the family of the murdered children have received many death threats and will enter a protection and relocation program.

Nelson Cantillo, president of the National Association of Employees of the Judicial Branch, said “if we take into account that 287 homicides of judicial employees have been committed in the last 20 years, that gives us an average of one murder per month. These are outrageous figures, figures that may not move the government but they move us, which is why we called this day of protest.”

Last week, the Supreme Judicial Council of Colombia called being a judge in the country a “high risk” job. According to Supreme Judicial Council President Hernando Torres, Colombian judges “are very concerned that in the past five years six judges have been murdered. Being a judge is becoming a high risk profession.”

For more information, please see:

Colombia Reports – One Judicial Official Murdered Every Month in Colombia – 26 March 2011

Latin American Herald Tribune – More than 1 Judicial Official Killed Every Month in Colombia – 26 March 2011

Colombia Reports – Colombia Judges at “high risk”: Court – 23 March 2011