Colombia military atrocities prompt criticism of Plan Colombia

The number of civilians killed by Colombian armed forces has soared, activist groups allege, with many of the abuses committed by army units that had been vetted by the State Department. There were 329 so-called extra-judicial killings by the Colombian military and police last year, a coalition of Colombian rights groups asserts in a report, a 48% increase from the 223 reported in 2006, reports the L.A. Times' Chris Kraul.

According to this report, the continuing allegations against the Colombian military have led Congress to criticize U.S. military aid under Plan Colombia and have been an obstacle to approval of a binational free trade agreement.

Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of the Senate subcommittee on State Department and foreign operations and author of the 1996 law that makes foreign military aid conditional on human rights compliance, expressed dismay.

"While the secretary of State certifies sufficient progress on human rights in Colombia, multiple sources report that unlawful killings by the Colombian army are continuing despite efforts by the minister of defense to stop it," he said in an e-mailed statement. "After providing billions of dollars in training and equipment to the Colombian army, we should expect better, including vigorous investigations and prosecutions of these crimes."

The United States Congress just approved a similar injection of funding into Mexico under a bill called the Merida Initiative, under which $400 million will go toward helping President Felipe Calderon fight powerful drug cartels and organized crime networks. You can read Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont defending that bill here.

Read the whole dispatch on unlawful killings by the Colombian military here.

For more on Colombia, click here.

And click here for more on the Merida Initiative.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo: Forensic anthropologist Maira Martinez works in a shallow grave near Santa Marta, Colombia. Martinez is a member of a dozen exhumation teams that have fanned out across Colombia to dig up remains of thousands of victims of a decades-long conflict. Credit: Chris Kraul / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Juan]

Leahy and his staffers are disgusting to justify the Merida Initiative.

[Steve]

"For more on Columbia, click here."

That's pretty disappointing. LA Times should know how to spell Colombia.

In response to Pablo: Did you overlook the fact that the article is about extrajudicial killings commited in Colombia by the Colombian military specifically? It has nothing to do with murders committed by paracos.

[Paul Wolf]

Colombia is a continuing tragedy. Colombian NGO's who report that assassinations by official govenment forces are up by 48% this year - well, these people are incredibly brave to do this. Reporting that kind of news is a good way to get accused of being a guerrilla, and killed yourself.

The AUC was an attempt by the Colombian government to distance itself from the brutal methods used to fight civilian supporters of the guerrillas. Now the army seems to be committing the murders directly once again. The lesson no one ever seems to learn is that these assassinations just increase support for the guerrillas. Many of the combatants became combatants out of revenge for the murder of a family member. It's been that way for 60 years without interruption.

[Pablo]

You might recall that most of the killings you are reporting where made while the AUC (United Defense Forces of Colombia), a paramilitary group that was disbanded by the Colombian government, now the major leaders are awaiting their sentence here in the US and the Colombian government trough its judicial system has been cracking on corrupt politicians and military officers and lower commands. It seems that you don’t read the news or that your information is biased towards the opposition of aid to help the Mexican government eliminate the narcotrafiquers by persuading the audience to think that this will happen because of the aid provided.

If you have ever been to Colombia, if look at any poll you will be able to tell that the situation is getting better, and maybe if you read the news you will know that there are several corrupt military personnel that are currently in jail for supporting these sort of groups, and more are under investigation.

Colombia before “PLAN COLOMBIA” was a complete mess where the government was reduced to govern only in major cities but the country was taken by guerrilla groups and even Paramilitary groups ( obviously the last where created by Colombian ordinary people but transformed in cruel killing machines). The military did not have the strength to get out of the cities and combat this organizations. BIG question, How do you recognize who is a guerrillero? Well, they do not always wear a uniform, they don’t always go around with a AK-47. how could you have arrested these individuals ( I am not saying all people killed in extrajudicial terminations where criminals, some where innocent people) if they where in areas under the control of the guerrilla groups.

Know the real history of COLOMBIA but do not jeopardize the success of plan Colombia and the Good deeds of most of the Colombian army and the Bipartisan help brought to save this country that by generations had been ravaged by terrorist organizations. Plan Colombia also eliminated the Paramilitary Forces.