The war is measured in liters of blood - FIDH

I. Extrajudicial Executionsin Colombia and thePhenomenon of FalsePositivesBetween December 2007 and August 2008, at least 16 young men disappeared under mysteriouscircumstances in the municipality of Soacha (Cundinamarca). Some of them told their familiesthat they were going away in response to an employment opening in Santander. Others simplydid not return to their homes. All of them were subsequently reported as killed in combat bytroops of the Francisco de Paula Santander battalion or Mobile Brigade 15, both units attachedto the Second Division of the National Army. 12 The outcry erupted in August 2008, when themothers of the youths of Soacha came together to call for their children, after several monthsof uncertainty about their whereabouts, unsuccessful searches, indifference and the lack ofresponse from state authorities. The bodies of the young people appeared, inexplicably, 700kilometres from Soacha, buried as N.N. (anonymous), in a common grave in Ocaña (Norte deSantander), falsely reported by the army as criminals, paramilitary or guerrilla fighters killedin combat. When these claims took on public notoriety, families across the country began todenounce the disappearance and murder of loved ones in similar circumstances.Although this is not anything new, because historically instances are known in which peoplehave been killed by the security forces and then presented as killed in combat, during the 2002- 2008 period, this practice became an unprecedented phenomenon, with specific features,clear patterns, and a high degree of organization, which compel us to look at them as a set ofinterrelated events. It is this practice that has come to be commonly called false positives, atechnical expression generally used to designate “the coldblooded and premeditated murder ofinnocent civilians for the sake of profit”. 13During his visit to Colombia in 2009, the United Nations Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitraryor Summary Executions noted that “the focus on the Soacha case fosters the perception that it isa limited phenomenon, both geographically and over time. Although the Soacha killings wereflagrant and obscene, my investigation shows that they are just the tip of the iceberg. I haveinterviewed witnesses and survivors who described very similar killings in the departments ofAntioquia, Arauca, Valle del Cauca, Casanare, Cesar, Córdoba, Huila, Meta, Norte de Santander,Putumayo, Santander, Sucre and Vichada” 14 .12. Divisions constitute the largest operational units and are responsible for leading operations in the departments of the country. The SecondDivision has jurisdiction in the northeast of the country, with command post in the city of Bucaramanga, the capital of Santander. It coversan area of 68,757 square kilometres, comprising 145 municipalities between the departments of Antioquia, Bolívar, Boyacá, Cesar, Norte deSantander and Santander. The mobile brigades are tactical units with great offensive capabilities. Mobile 15 was created in January 2006,under the operational command of the Second Division. Following the scandal unleashed by what happened in Soacha, this unit was dismantled.13. That is how it was defined by Philip Alston, United Nations Special Rapporteur for Extrajudicial, Arbitrary and Summary executions, duringhis visit to Colombia in 2009. Cf. Statements by Professor Philip Alston, press release, Bogota, 18 June, 2009, available at http://www.nacionesunidas.org.co/index.shtml?apc=i1 ——- &s=n&x=58590 (last accessed: 4 May, 2012).14. Ibid.Colombia. The war is measured in litres of blood / 7