memorandum of justification concerning human ... - Just the Facts

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Army Inspector General Carlos Arturo Suarez, the results of which were then turned over
to the Prosecutor General‘s Office. Suarez headed the special commission that
investigated the Soacha murders and led to the dismissal of 27 military personnel.
Throughout 2007 and 2008, the Prosecutor General‘s Office opened 25 investigations
into 150 possible extrajudicial killings in César.
Edilberto Vasquez Cardona
On May 26, 2009, seven soldiers were sentenced to 30 years in prison for their
roles in the 2006 murder of Edilberto Vasquez Cardona, who was killed and presented as
a FARC member killed in combat. Vasquez was a member of the Arenas Altas
―humanitarian zone,‖ which is part of the San José de Apartadó Peace Community in
Urabá (Prosecutor General‘s Office Case Number 3131).
Gaula of Córdoba
On March 10, 2009, the Prosecutor General‘s Office ordered the preventative
detention of retired Army Major Julio César Parga Rivas, former commander of the Anti-
Kidnapping Unit (―Gaula‖) of Córdoba, with the murder of five civilians who were later
reported as combat deaths in 2007. Parga was extradited to the United States on drug
charges on March 18, 2009.
Merchants in Barranquilla
On December 24, 2008, the Barranquilla branch of the Prosecutor General‘s Office
ordered the arrest of five soldiers for the alleged July 29, 2001, extrajudicial killing of
two merchants whose deaths were reported as FARC killed in combat. The order
reversed a January 2006 ruling in favor of the soldiers by a Military Penal Justice panel in
Santa Marta. The five soldiers claimed that the two men were FARC members planting
an explosive charge on a railway line owned and operated by the Drummond Mining
Company. The Prosecutor General‘s Office reported that the autopsies showed that the
shots that killed the two men were fired at point blank range, and investigators said that
the soldiers gave conflicting statements about the incident, suggesting that the men had
no ties to the FARC.
Murder of Seven Civilians in Boyaca
On December 22, 2008, the Inspector General‘s Office announced an investigation
into seven soldiers from the Tarqui Battalion in Boyaca for their involvement in the
murder of seven individuals on May 8, 2004. The seven were reported as enemies killed
in combat after the soldiers entered a private home in Labranzagrande (Boyaca). Details
of the engagement as described by the soldiers were not supported by forensic evidence
found at the scene. The Prosecutor General‘s Office continues to investigate this case.
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