These former Mayors of Apartadó, in the Urabá region in northwest Colombia, have been imprisoned for two years as instigators of the La Chinita massacre, based upon coerced and bought testimony.
In that Apartadó massacre (1/23/94) 34 people died. In the 2 months prior to the killings, there had been several smaller massacres of banana workers associated with either the UP or another alternative party, the Esperanza Paz y Libertad ("Hope, Peace and Liberty") Movement. In previous years, military and paramilitary death squads had collaborated with drug traffickers and massacred banana workers and other civilians. Some massacres were apparently carried out by one guerrilla group vs another's supporters--some undoubtedly instigated as Army 'dirty tricks'. Prior to the massacre, Bula and Campo had urged the military to increase its vigilance and patrols -- hardly the requests of men about to order a massacre! Although thousands of soldiers are in the area, nothing was done to prevent the massacre. Right after the massacre, Lopez Bula joined Apartad— Mayor Campo in publicly condemning the killings. They also met the afternoon after the massacre with the local army commander.
In spite of the inconsistency of charging Lopez Bula and Campo with planning the La Chinita massacre given their commitment to peace, their call for protection for the civilian population, and their commitment to search out the responsible parties, the case against them has proceeded through the so-called "faceless justice" system to a point where a judge is to decide their guilt or innocence of the charge of being the planners and organizers of La Chinita Massacre.
The "Faceless Justice" system, which the Colombian government created with U.S. government assistance in order to combat drug trafficking and terrorism, but which is used primarily against political dissidents, employs anonymous ('faceless') judges, prosecutors, and witnesses. Under "faceless justice" there are no court appearances nor a jury, nor does the accused get to face her/his accusers or even, in most cases, to learn their identities to permit action to obtain evidence which may impeach their testimony. All evidence is submitted in written form, in briefs, affidavits, and depositions taken by the Office of the Prosecutor, or Fiscalia. Legal proceedings begin with the supposedly objective investigation by the Fiscalia. If the official of the prosecutor's office in charge of the case finds sufficient evidence to warrant a trial, he submits the case to the judge and only then does he convert from a supposedly "objective" investigator into an adversarial prosecutor.
In the case of Jose Antonio Lopez Bula and Nelson Campo, their experienced defense attorney, Eduardo Umana Mendoza, has emphasized the unreliable nature of the witnesses that have been presented by the prosecutor's office. He notes primary witnesses were humble country people who had been detained as guerrillas or who had deserted from FARC guerrilla forces. These witnesses had been living on a military base near Apartad—, where they had been instructed to testify against the defendants and had received payment for their accusations. One witness, Hiller de Jesus Guisao, stated in a sworn affidavit that deserters were paid 50,000 to 200,000 pesos (US $100-400) to testify against Lopez Bula, Campo and other UP activists. This affidavit -that testimony against Lopez Bula and Campo was obtained with threats and bribes--has been refused admission into the case!
CSN delegations have been impressed by the extraordinary accomplishments of Mayors Lopez Bula and Campos and their administrations. The city has a new school, public market, bus station, and atmosphere of progress that the people indicate is due to the extraordinary leadership of Jose Antonio Lopez Bula, which Nelson Campo carried forward. Clearly these leaders were seen as too capable by their political opponents. With the assistance of the army (supported by U.S. taxpayer dollars) and utilizing "faceless justice" (partially designed by and heavily supported by U.S. government), they constructed a scheme to convict Lopez Bula and Campo on bogus charges and thus remove them as political opponents in a peaceful electoral process.
Without an international outcry to this outrage, Lopez Bula and Nelson Campo will be convicted and sentenced to 30-40 years in jail, when their only real "crime" has been dedication to improving the lot of the common person. Faxes/letters are needed! Please request the following for this case, #20397-2635 of the Regional Judge of Medellin: