Colombia's army and defense minister ask forgiveness for extrajudicial executions
Emotional ceremony in honor of army victims from Soacah
by Adriaan Alsema October 4, 2023
Colombias defense minister and the countrys army commander asked forgiveness for the assassinations of 19 men from the city of Soacha, who were falsely presented as guerrillas killed in combat between 2007 and 2008.
The public apology on behalf of the Colombian State and its security forces sought to comply with a court ruling that ordered this in 2015.
President Gustavo Petro also asked forgiveness to the group of victims who played a key role in ending the mass killing of civilians by the army in what became known as the false positives scandal.
According to war crimes tribunal JEP, at least 6,402 people were executed and presented as guerrillas killed in combat between 2002 and 2008.
Members of victims organization Mothers of Colombias False Positives (Mafapo) stressed that they wanted to hear apologies from former presidents Juan Manuel Santos and Alvaro Uribe, who were responsible for the military during the Soacha executions.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/colombias-army-and-defense-minister-ask-forgiveness-for-extrajudicial-executions/