The officials who work in the different instances of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia have been threatened with death by the narco-paramilitary group identified as ‘Águilas Negras’, confirmed this Tuesday magistrate Roberto Vidal, after it was circulated on Monday a pamphlet on social networks with the intimidating message of that criminal organization.
“This is a pamphlet signed by a group that calls itself ‘Las Águilas Negras’ and that was circulated among some lawyers from the JEP’s Autonomous Defense System,” said Vidal, who explained that the officials who received the message work in the Amazonian departments of Caquetá and Putumayo, in the south of the country.
The head of the JEP commented that although the threats reached these three officials, the content of the pamphlet speaks of the work carried out by the transitional justice mechanism in general terms, a system created as a result of the 2016 Peace Agreement to investigate and prosecute the former members of the FARC-EP, members of the public force and third parties who committed crimes in the midst of the internal armed conflict in Colombia.
«This pamphlet is not directed at people in particular, but rather talks about the JEP in general and its work. He mentions the investigation and search for missing persons and even sanction projects. It is a generalized threat against the Jurisdiction as a whole,” Vidal stressed, noting that they have been forced to increase security measures and request more support from the authorities.
The senior official specified that the recent threats have already been reported to the Ministries of Defense, Justice, and the Interior, as well as the Office of the High Commissioner for Peace and the Verification Mission of the United Nations Organization (UN). , which in its last quarterly report rejected these acts directed against magistrates, appearing parties and victims.
“The intimidation against the JEP persists”
Vidal indicated that “the intimidation against the JEP persists” and has been radicalizing for two months, not only against officials of that body, but also against ex-guerrillas, those appearing and victims. For example, he recalled the threat from the Clan del Golfo last May against magistrates Alejandro Ramelli and Hugo Escobar, for investigating the murders and forced disappearances in the department of Antioquia, within the macro-case of extrajudicial executions or ‘false positives’.
On this, he said that the intimidation has been reported to the Attorney General’s Office and that Deputy Prosecutor Marta Mancera has addressed the situation “carefully and immediately” and placed the Director of Human Rights of the Prosecutor’s Office, Hugo Tovar Pérez, as responsible for the investigation. .
However, the head of the JEP indicated that despite the efforts of the Prosecutor’s Office, they are still awaiting the “results” of the investigations and that in the specific case of the group that identifies itself as ‘Águilas Negras’, the authorities They have not yet determined who their members are.
“The JEP relies on the results of the Prosecutor’s Office to prosecute those responsible for threats that seek to prevent the truth of the atrocious crimes from being known and intend to intimidate those who have decided to break the silence,” said Vidal.
He also commented that with these intimidations the criminals also intend to undermine “the hope of millions of victims of the conflict who are beginning to see their perpetrators and recognize those responsible.”
The head of the JEP indicated that despite the continuous threats they receive, the officials who work for this system remain committed to asserting the rights of victims through “restorative justice”, with which they seek to “consolidate the transition towards peace and restore the social fabric” that was broken by the serious crimes committed in the armed conflict.
What does the pamphlet say?
The threatening message from the ‘Águilas Negras’, an armed group that is known for kidnapping, extorting, murdering and recruiting minors, not only threatens JEP officials but also demobilized ex-guerrillas and “collaborators” of justice transitional.
«Death sentence to the guerrillas, lawyers, collaborators of the failed peace process. Therefore, we will not allow the collaborators who, disguised as searching for minefields and alleged missing bodies, deceive the country with the failed peace agreement to breathe,” says part of the pamphlet.
Then they add: «To those guerrilla lawyers, collaborating magistrates and supposed defenders of human rights complicit with the FARC and the progressive communists must die; Consequently, we declare them a military objective (…) we are going to torture, dismember and disappear”, adds the threatening message that manifests itself against the Peace Agreement signed between the Government of Juan Manuel Santos and the extinct guerrilla in 2016.
Who are they?
It is known that the ‘Black Eagles’ were formed after the disappearance of the extinct United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), a counter-insurgent, drug-trafficking and far-right paramilitary organization that operated in Colombia between 1997 and 2006.
Former AUC members have been accused of perpetrating hundreds of crimes against humanity in complicity with the Army and the State during the armed conflict. In addition, several of its former members have linked former Colombian President Álvaro Uribe in their actions, especially in the so-called ‘false positive’ cases or extrajudicial executions. with RT