On July 12, 1997, two planeloads of paramilitaries arrived at the airport of San José del Guaviare, which also served as a base for the anti-narcotics police. The paramilitaries then traveled through territories where the Colombian National Army operated checkpoints.
On July 15, 1997, the paramilitaries arrived at Mapiripán, where they used chainsaws and machetes to murder, behead, dismember, and disembowel a number of civilians. Because the bodies were thrown into a river, it is unknown exactly how many people died but the U.S. State Department claimed in 2003 that at least 30 civilians were killed.[3][4]
In proceedings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, the government of Colombia admitted that members of its military forces also played a role in the massacre, through omission.[5]General Jaime Uscátegui allegedly ordered local troops under his command to stay away from the area in which the murders were taking place until the paramilitaries finished the massacre and left. Retired General Uscátegui was later prosecuted, put on trial, and subsequently acquitted.[6][7] On 25 November 2009, the Superior Tribunal of Bogotá revoked the previous sentence, and condemned General Uscátegui to 40 years in prison.[8]
Jaime Humberto Uscategui, a former army general who had ignored calls for help during the massacre,[9] was arrested in 1999.[10] His trial took place in a military court and he was given forty months in prison for "omission" in 2001.[11][10]
On 25 November 2009,[10] the Bogotá superior tribunal announced in a ruling of ninety pages that it had passed a forty-year prison sentence on 61-year-old General Uscategui.[11][9][12][13] It was the longest sentence that had ever been given to an army officer in Colombia's history.[9] Uscategui was found guilty of kidnapping, murder, and falsifying public documents.[9][11] He declared his innocence, saying "I have the tranquillity of innocence and I also have the tranquillity of proof".[11]
Colonel Hernán Orozco, the battalion commander accused of failing to stop the massacre, was also given a forty-year sentence for murder in 2007.[11]
Carecuchillo surrenderedit
One of the paramilitary leaders allegedly responsible for the massacre, Dumas de Jesús Castillo Guerrero, a.k.a. "Carecuchillo", surrendered to authorities on May 20, 2008, after having been considered dead for half a year.[14]
mapiripán, massacre, massacre, civilians, that, took, place, mapiripán, meta, department, colombia, massacre, carried, from, july, july, 1997, united, self, defense, forces, colombia, outlawed, right, wing, paramilitary, group, locationmapiripán, meta, colombi. The Mapiripan massacre was a massacre of civilians that took place in Mapiripan Meta Department Colombia The massacre was carried out from July 15 to July 20 1997 by the United Self Defense Forces of Colombia AUC an outlawed right wing paramilitary group Mapiripan massacreLocationMapiripan Meta ColombiaDate15 20 July 1997TargetCiviliansAttack typeShooting mass murder massacreWeaponsChainsaws 1 Deaths30 2 PerpetratorsAUC On July 12 1997 two planeloads of paramilitaries arrived at the airport of San Jose del Guaviare which also served as a base for the anti narcotics police The paramilitaries then traveled through territories where the Colombian National Army operated checkpoints On July 15 1997 the paramilitaries arrived at Mapiripan where they used chainsaws and machetes to murder behead dismember and disembowel a number of civilians Because the bodies were thrown into a river it is unknown exactly how many people died but the U S State Department claimed in 2003 that at least 30 civilians were killed 3 4 In proceedings before the Inter American Court of Human Rights the government of Colombia admitted that members of its military forces also played a role in the massacre through omission 5 General Jaime Uscategui allegedly ordered local troops under his command to stay away from the area in which the murders were taking place until the paramilitaries finished the massacre and left Retired General Uscategui was later prosecuted put on trial and subsequently acquitted 6 7 On 25 November 2009 the Superior Tribunal of Bogota revoked the previous sentence and condemned General Uscategui to 40 years in prison 8 Contents 1 Convictions 2 Carecuchillo surrender 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksConvictions editJaime Humberto Uscategui a former army general who had ignored calls for help during the massacre 9 was arrested in 1999 10 His trial took place in a military court and he was given forty months in prison for omission in 2001 11 10 On 25 November 2009 10 the Bogota superior tribunal announced in a ruling of ninety pages that it had passed a forty year prison sentence on 61 year old General Uscategui 11 9 12 13 It was the longest sentence that had ever been given to an army officer in Colombia s history 9 Uscategui was found guilty of kidnapping murder and falsifying public documents 9 11 He declared his innocence saying I have the tranquillity of innocence and I also have the tranquillity of proof 11 Colonel Hernan Orozco the battalion commander accused of failing to stop the massacre was also given a forty year sentence for murder in 2007 11 Carecuchillo surrender editOne of the paramilitary leaders allegedly responsible for the massacre Dumas de Jesus Castillo Guerrero a k a Carecuchillo surrendered to authorities on May 20 2008 after having been considered dead for half a year 14 See also editList of massacres in Colombia War on DrugsReferences edit Colombia Democracy Now Uppsala Conflict Data Program Conflict Encyclopedia Colombia One Sided violence AUC Civilians 1997 2005 http www ucdp uu se gpdatabase gpcountry php id 35 amp regionSelect 5 Southern Americas Archived 2013 06 06 at the Wayback Machine National Security Archive August 1 2003 Robert P Jackson Director of Office for Promotion of Human Rights and Democracy Bureau of Democracy Human Rights and Labor http nsarchive files wordpress com 2012 07 20030801 pdf Evans Michael 2012 07 13 Document Friday The Mapiripan Massacre Cover up UNREDACTED Retrieved 2019 08 20 StackPath PDF Comunicado sentencia violacion derechos humanos Uscategui Colombia Archived from the original on 2007 02 03 Retrieved 2007 01 23 Human Rights Atrocities Still go Unpunished in Colombia Rights and Liberties AlterNet anos de carcel por masacre de Mapiripan pagara el general retirado Jaime Uscategui a b c d Colombia jails death squad general over massacre BBC 2009 11 26 Retrieved 2009 11 27 a b c Libardo Cardona 2009 11 25 Court convicts ex general in Colombia massacre The Miami Herald Retrieved 2009 11 27 dead link a b c d e Former Colombian general jailed for role in Mapiripan massacre The Guardian 2009 11 26 Retrieved 2009 11 27 Ex general colombiano condenado a 40 anos in Spanish Radio Nederland Wereldomroep Archived from the original on November 29 2009 Retrieved 2009 11 27 General gets 40 years over massacre The Scotsman 2009 11 27 Retrieved 2009 11 27 Mapiripan massacre suspect surrenders Colombia Reports May 20 2008 Retrieved 2008 05 20 dead link External links editCase of the Mapiripan Massacre v Colombia Judgment on Merits Reparations and Costs Inter American Court of Human Rights September 15 2005 2 53 31 N 72 08 01 W 2 8919 N 72 1336 W 2 8919 72 1336 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mapiripan massacre amp oldid 1170201389, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
