On the second day of truth recognition hearings carried out by the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – JEP, within the framework of the false positives that occurred in Casanare, General (r) Henry William Torres Escalante, who was commander of the Brigade, was heard XVI, for the time of the events.
Who was Torres Escalante?
Henry William Torres Escalante arrived at the XVI Brigade on December 19, 2003 to occupy the position of operations officer. From December 3, 2004 to December 10, 2005, he served as second commander of the brigade, and based on said responsibility, as well as due to his subsequent ownership appointment, he commanded it from December 10, 2005. until June 8, 2007.
In his capacity as commander of the XVI Brigade, and during the exercise of said function, he had control over the criminal organization that was inserted in this military unit, and that distanced itself from the institutionality.
In this way, he promoted the criminal plan revealed by the JEP based on the orders it issued, as well as the conditions it generated, by virtue of which 196 victims were illegitimately murdered and presented as killed in combat in 141 events of operational results. , of which 138 were presented as unidentified, between December 15, 2005 and May 27, 2007, by all the units under their command that reported operational results, even crossing the geographical borders of the jurisdiction assigned to the Brigade XVI, which corresponds to 77% of the events of combat casualties that occurred during his command.
The above, according to data from the JEP, corresponds to 66.5% of the events determined by this Chamber as murders presented as combat casualties between 2005 and 2008. Among these victims are five women and 186 men, among them a person with Orientation Diverse Sexual, Identity and Gender Expression – OSIEGD, five adolescents, two older adults and two people in vulnerable situations due to disabilities.
Read also: Democratic security allowed false positives in Casanare: former director of the DAS
Of these 141 events, 15 were reported by the special groups, which were under their direct control and command. These victims were murdered in controlled delivery operations, others were deceived or held, and murdered by men belonging to the units under their command, to comply with their demands to present operational results and suppress stigmatized or targeted members of the population. of participating in illegal and insurgent activities.
Read also: Victims and perpetrators of false positives in Casanare were face to face
Due to the above, the JEP Chamber called to recognize the responsibility of Henry William Torres Escalante for his leadership in the configuration of the criminal organization of the XVI Brigade dedicated to the commission of murders and disappearances that were presented as combat casualties.
Read also: In the Casanare false positives, even street residents brought from Villavicencio were murdered
Torres Escalante was charged through Auto 055 of 2022 as the direct perpetrator of the crimes of homicide of a protected person and forced disappearance. These events, which occurred between December 2005 and June 2007, during which time he served as commander of the military unit, in accordance with the determination and legal classification made by the Chamber, constitute conduct that is not amnestiable and in respect of which it is not possible to allege it. prescription of criminal action.
He acknowledged his responsibility in the crimes
Before the victims, Torres Escalante acknowledged his responsibility for the crimes accused by the JEP. He is the first officer of that rank to recognize responsibility for him under the title of mediate author.
As commander of the XVI Brigade, he had control over the criminal organization that was inserted into this military unit. Based on the orders he issued, 196 victims were murdered and presented as dead in combat in 141 incidents.
“The intervention that all of you, victims, have made in this hearing, your pain, your demands, led me to face the truth that I often denied and recognize the damage caused to you, mothers, wives, children, brothers of the murdered people. ”Torres said.
Source: news – HOLA Casanare, with data from the Special Jurisdiction for Peace – JEP