WEEKLY NEWS UPDATE ON THE AMERICAS
ISSUE #418, FEBRUARY 1, 1998
NICARAGUA SOLIDARITY NETWORK OF GREATER NEW YORK
339 LAFAYETTE ST., NEW YORK, NY 10012 (212) 674-9499
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*6. COLOMBIAN SOLDIERS KILL FIVE IN "REGRETTABLE ERROR"
Five people died and six were wounded on Jan. 24 in the Colombian
department of Cundinamarca when army soldiers stationed at a
roadblock fired indiscriminately at passing vehicles. The
soldiers claimed they were shot at first by rebels; survivors who
witnessed the incident said the soldiers fired without
provocation. On Jan. 26 army commander Gen. Mario Hugo Galan
called the incident a regrettable error that could have been
avoided, and announced drastic sanctions for those responsible.
The army continues to insist that the soldiers were trying to
ward off a rebel attack when they shot at the passing cars. [El
Colombiano (Medellin) 1/26/98, 1/27/98]
*7. US MARINES BEAT UP WOMAN IN COLOMBIA
Four US Marines stationed at the US embassy in Bogota, Colombia,
have been charged with beating a Colombian woman at the Embassy
who refused to have sex with them. The incident took place on
Dec. 28, but only became known after Bogota daily El Tiempo ran a
story about the lawsuit on Jan. 20. The charges were filed by
Johana Villalba, a 25-year old single mother who works as a
waitress in a Bogota bar. Villalba says that the four US Marines
came to the bar where she worked and invited her to a party. She
agreed and got into the car with them. Instead they took her to
the garage of the US embassy, she says, where one of them said he
wanted to have sex with her. She initially refused, but after the
soldier continued to pressure her, she finally said she would
have sex with him if he paid her $50. The Marine then beat her.
When she managed to escape the room, the other three Marines
chased her and beat her. She finally escaped the embassy grounds
and was picked up by the Colombian police and taken to a clinic,
where it was confirmed that she had been badly beaten.
Villalba said that the next day she returned to the embassy to
demand compensation, because her injuries would keep her from
work for at least 10 days. An official whose name she can't
remember offered her $150 in exchange for not filing a lawsuit.
The US embassy acknowledged that an "incident" took place on Dec.
28 but declined further comment. [Clarin (Buenos Aires) 1/21/98
from AFP]
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