Colombian journalist Felipe Zuleta has produced an excellent two-part documentary on the “False Positives” scandal that rocked Colombia in 2008. Basically, it turned out the army was taking poor youths from Bogota’s slums and killing them to pump up their supposed FARC body counts.
So, not so much false positives as murders.
Current presidential front-runner Juan Manuel Santos was defense minister at the time. Neither he nor any other higher-ups were held responsible. It’s possible (likely?) that the false positives incident was not an isolated one. The Council on Hemispheric Affairs has more. Many thanks to the Center for International Policy’s Colombia Program for adding the subtitles. (The original videos are available here.)
It also stands to reason, if I might be forgiven for intruding here, that the long history of these and other comparable murders following a similar “modus operandi” is an evident sign of the structural nature of this problem within the Colombian military, as opposed to the simplicity of the argument that Juan Manuel Santos -as unlikeable as I would say he is for plenty of other reasons- is somehow primarily responsible for a series of tragedies that did not begin in mid-2006, when he was named Defense Minister.
The biggest issue I have with this video is that, in its zeal to make these horrors visible abroad and thus provide a very necessary service in favor of the causes of the victims, more or less throws anything that isn’t the immediate context out the window because it’s not what is politically convenient.
The concept of “Santos = False Positives” is a good campaign slogan but, hell, even “Uribe = False Positives” would paint a slightly more accurate though still incomplete picture.
I would also like apologize in advance if anyone feels offended by my comments, but I feel that sometimes the complexity of Colombian reality cannot be sacrificed.
It might also be interesting to read CINEP’s (a human rights NGO, not pro-Uribe by any stretch of the imagination) 2009 report (in Spanish), which highlights that the number of cases that occurred during 2009 sharply dropped after the measures taken by the Defense Ministry in late 2008, which included sacking a large number of military commanders.
I would say that does count as holding someone responsible. Full judicial punishment is another matter, trial procedures are slow and inefficient (to the point that many defendants have been freed from custody due to time limits expiring, though they’re still being processed and not automatically cleared), but disciplinary actions have been taken.
Again, hardly something that makes me look kindly at this horrible situation but nuances are important.
It’s kind of sad – your conversation about mass murder and proper blame is more civil and constructive than most conversations I’ve overheard about US health care.
The Nation has a long, wonky, wonderful article on Mexican maize cultivation, the effects of NAFTA, and the dangers of genetically-modified seeds. Author Peter Canby backs up his excellent writing with piles and piles of meticulous research. Not to be missed. [link, via SM] (Image from Joel Penner.)
Cuban dissident Guillermo Farinas ended his hunger strike yesterday after 134 days. Farinas decided to end his strike after the Cuban government said it would release political prisoners rounded up in the "Black Spring" crackdown of 2003. Get well soon. [link]
The Uruguayan selection, which has made it to the quarter finals of the World Cup, just received a shipment of half a ton of fine cuts of beef for the mother of all asados in preparation for a contest against Ghana on Friday: "450 kilos of lomo, 200 of entrecot, 75 of vacío, 75 of colita de cuadril, 150 of ojo de bife and 50 kg of picaña." [link]
Hitmen have assassinated the PRI candidate for governor of Tamaulipas State, Rodolfo Torre Cantú. Torre was gunned down along with six others at about 10:30 this morning on a highway on the way to a campaign event. Drug mafias are assumed to be responsible. [link]
From the days when coups were something of a regional sport, new documents detail a famous British ballerina's role in a plot to topple the government of Panama. The plan was to use her yacht to gather men and arms, then "land somewhere and collect in the hills." It didn't work. [link]
Mexico's Attorney General's Office has posted on its web site irrefutable evidence that gold-plated AR-15s and diamond-studded pistol grips are not nearly as cool-looking as they sound. The deadly knick-knack collection is said to belong to Valencia Cartel leader El Lobo. [link]
Two Brazilian ranchers were sentenced to 30 years in prison apiece for ordering the killing of an environmentalist nun: "Prosecutors said the pair offered to pay a gunman $25,000 to kill the 73-year-old [Dorothy] Stang because she had prevented them from stealing a piece of land that the government had granted to a group of poor farmers." [link]
This video of a kidnapping and car chase in Mexico is notable mainly for the bad-assitude of the TV journalists who were on this like white on rice. Well done, gentlemen.
The Economist takes a peak at the Mockus phenomenon in Colombia: "His moustacheless beard gives him the air of a Baltic pastor... He is financing his campaign with a bank overdraft. His supporters rely on Facebook and make their own posters; street vendors sell unofficial campaign T-shirts." [link]
Some cruise lines will cease traveling to Antarctica after this cruise season, as a ban on the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil goes into effect next year. The ban came after a 2007 incident when a Gap Adventures ship got punctured by ice and sank, causing a mess. [link]
The Nation has a long, wonky, wonderful article on Mexican maize cultivation, the effects of NAFTA, and the dangers of genetically-modified seeds. Author Peter Canby backs up his excellent writing with piles and piles of meticulous research. Not to be missed. [
Hitmen have assassinated the PRI candidate for governor of Tamaulipas State, Rodolfo Torre Cantú. Torre was gunned down along with six others at about 10:30 this morning on a highway on the way to a campaign event. Drug mafias are assumed to be responsible. [
6 Comments
I’ve heard for years now that they were not isolated incidents.
Yeah, that stands to reason.
It also stands to reason, if I might be forgiven for intruding here, that the long history of these and other comparable murders following a similar “modus operandi” is an evident sign of the structural nature of this problem within the Colombian military, as opposed to the simplicity of the argument that Juan Manuel Santos -as unlikeable as I would say he is for plenty of other reasons- is somehow primarily responsible for a series of tragedies that did not begin in mid-2006, when he was named Defense Minister.
The biggest issue I have with this video is that, in its zeal to make these horrors visible abroad and thus provide a very necessary service in favor of the causes of the victims, more or less throws anything that isn’t the immediate context out the window because it’s not what is politically convenient.
The concept of “Santos = False Positives” is a good campaign slogan but, hell, even “Uribe = False Positives” would paint a slightly more accurate though still incomplete picture.
I would also like apologize in advance if anyone feels offended by my comments, but I feel that sometimes the complexity of Colombian reality cannot be sacrificed.
Not at all, Alvaro, you make excellent points.
It might also be interesting to read CINEP’s (a human rights NGO, not pro-Uribe by any stretch of the imagination) 2009 report (in Spanish), which highlights that the number of cases that occurred during 2009 sharply dropped after the measures taken by the Defense Ministry in late 2008, which included sacking a large number of military commanders.
I would say that does count as holding someone responsible. Full judicial punishment is another matter, trial procedures are slow and inefficient (to the point that many defendants have been freed from custody due to time limits expiring, though they’re still being processed and not automatically cleared), but disciplinary actions have been taken.
Again, hardly something that makes me look kindly at this horrible situation but nuances are important.
Relevant links:
http://www.cinep.org.co/node/758
http://www.cinep.org.co/sites/cinep.cinep.org.co/files/Informe%20Especial%20Cinep-PPP%20_Falsos%20Positivos%202009_.pdf
http://globalexchange.org/countries/americas/colombia/6273.html
http://www.cipcol.org/?p=692
http://www.cipcol.org/?p=694
It’s kind of sad – your conversation about mass murder and proper blame is more civil and constructive than most conversations I’ve overheard about US health care.