Santafˇ de Bogot‡, September 14, 1998

Again the displaced communities of the Cuenca del Cacarica, 
provisionally housed in Turbo and in Bocas del Atrato, suffer a 
violation against the life of its members.

On Thursday, September 10, between 2:00 and 2:15 p.m., JOSE OSORIO 
MONTOYO, age 34, was assassinated by paramilitaries of the ćAutodefensas 
Campesinas de C—rdoba y Uraba.  The crime was committed in front of the 
Las Vegas farm, located 20 minutes from the municipality of UNGUIA, on 
the road that leads to ARQUIA LIMON.

While in the city of Ungu’a, JOSE was followed by a motorcycle driven by 
the "cinco pelos", a known paramilitary.  Upon leaving the village, JOSE 
passed the military checkpoint located on the Las Vegas bridge, minutes 
after "cinco pelos".  Halfway between the checkpoint and the army 
watchpost where the military units are located (a distance of about 1000 
meters), JOSE was approached by the same man from the motorcycle and 
another man.  There he was beaten, tortured, burnt with acid, stabbed, 
and shot.  His body showed nearly 17 bullet orifices.

From the moment of his assassination, JOSE«s body remained at the site, 
without any authority«s having lifted the cadaver.

Not until Monday, September 14, was it possible for family members, who 
travelled to the village, to recuperate the mortal remains of JOSE and 
bury them.

On account of the grave crisis the displaced communities are going 
through, due to the terrible humanitarian attention of the government 
and the absence of a definitive solution to the proposal of return, JOSE 
decided two and a half months ago to look for work in the municipality 
of Ungu’a, department of Choc—, in order to support his family.

JOSE is one of the 3800 displaced persons who were forcibly obligated to 
leave their lands in February 1997, following the joint action of 
soldiers and paramilitaries.

In the presence of this new crime against life, we ask ourselves several 
questions:  How is it possible that the act occurred on a highly 
militarized road?  How does one understand why there did not exist the 
slightest reaction on the part of the public force?  The motorcycle 
transporting the victimizers crossed the military checkpoint and upon 
returning, after they had committed the crime, crossed it again.  How 
does one explain why no one did anything?  The cadaver remained in view 
of all those who passed on this country road for five days.  How is it 
that there was no lifting of the cadaver on the part of any authority?

We express our most profound feeling of repudiation towards this 
assassination.  We believe that, as is happening with the remaining 
assassinations and disappearances of members of the displaced community 
found in Turbo and Bocas del Atrato, this crime will fall into oblivion 
and into the long road towards impunity that our State has created.

We leave this note as a moral declaration, with the firm conviction that 
we cannot keep silent such evident attitudes of omission and of possible 
participation on the part of members of the Public Force in the 
commission of this assassination, which expresses the consolidation of 
the para-state in the region of Ungu’a.  There the terror has generated 
one of the most profound negations for many families:  that of burying 
their dead.

We manifest our concern for what might happen to the life and physical 
integrity of the members of the OSORIO family, who dared to recover the 
body and give it a Christian burial.  Likewise, we express our concern 
for the continued wave of collective assassinations that are being 
produced in UNGUIA, of which we have received news and in which no 
authority has dilgently intervened.

We appreciate your solidarity.


Comisi—n Intercongregacional de Justicia y Paz