RCN Radio, September 20, 2019
(Translated by Eunice Gibson, CSN Volunteer Translator)
Retired Generals Mario Montoya Uribe and Rito Alejo del Río are among those summoned.
The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) summoned 91 military men to testify under File No. 04, which covers the acts of violence that took place in the area of Urabá during the internal armed conflict.
The Special Jurisdiction’s Admission of the Truth Branch requested that the Judicial Secretariat of the Admission Branch furnish the file on the “situation in the territory of Urabá for every person on the list of those that have been summoned, whether in active service, retired, or separated from the Armed Forces”.
The JEP also ordered the creation of an annexed record for the members of the Armed Forces included in the file that refer to the violent events that took place between January 1, 1986 and December 1, 2016 in that part of the country.
The JEP requested the Secretariat of the Admission Branch to speed up the submission process for six members of the military for the purpose of supplementing the list in the already voluminous file and carrying out the necessary procedures.
Among those summoned are former Commander of the Colombian Army, retired General Mario Montoya Uribe, who is also facing prosecution in the JEP for his alleged participation in the extrajudicial executions or “false positives”.
Retired General Rito Alejo del Río is required to appear in the same way. He has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for his connections with paramilitary groups and his participation in the murder of a community leader in Chocó after accusing him of being connected to the guerrillas.
Retired Colonel Jorge Eliécer Plazas Acevedo was also summoned to appear. He faces criminal charges for his alleged responsibility for the murder of the journalist and humorist Jaime Garzón Forero. The ex-commander of the Army’s B-2 Intelligence unit was sentenced to 40 years in prison for his responsibility in the kidnapping and murder of Israeli businessman Benjamín Khoudari.
Plazas Acevedo is also awaiting trial for his responsibility in the massacre at Mapiripán (Meta Province) carried out by paramilitary groups.