Former paramilitary chief was convicted of the murder of peasants in Casanare

For the forced disappearance and murder of five people in the department of Casanare, the former paramilitary chief Juan Carlos Alfonso Zubieta known as 'Chicken Room, the Dwarf or Miller' was convicted. According to the Criminal Court of the Yopal Circuit, the accused is responsible for the crime of enforced disappearance.

The incident would have happened on August 15, 2003 when Luis Castillo, 28, Carlos Castillo, 24, James Holguín, 42, Carlos Suárez, 55, and Oscar Palomino, 18, went from the municipality of Paratebueno to Trinidad on the instructions of the employer they were working for. According to the investigation, before reaching the route, they stopped for breakfast near the municipality of Monterrey where they were intercepted by the Campesino Self-Defense Forces of Casanare.

According to testimonies from paramilitaries, the five men were taken to the bridge of the Tacuyá River and taken to the AUC commander of the area who detained them for approximately two weeks. At that time, the victims were allegedly tortured and killed. The Commander of the Monterrey Police, Second Sergeant Wiliam Castillo, was convicted in 2012 of being a determining agent in the enforced disappearance of these five subjects.

Unfortunately, this type of crime is not a matter of the conflict of the past, despite the signing of peace agreements with paramilitary and guerrilla groups, violence continues to have a strong impact on the national territory today.

According to a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), violence increased in Colombia during 2021. As detailed, compared to 2020, the number of confinements, victims of explosive ordnance and displacement increased. The National Government, in response to that document, assured that it was in a state of 'strangeness' when reading it, since those conclusions do not coincide with those of the State.

“It is surprising that the ICRC report does not identify those who are truly responsible for the violation of international humanitarian law in Colombia, it must be said unambiguously, without fear and with courage: it is the ELN narco-terrorist groups, the dissidents of the FARC and the Gulf Clan, that affect our population , in the interest of profiting from illicit economies (...) in Colombia there is a threat marked by illicit rents that feed various armed and criminal groups,” said human rights adviser Jefferson Mena,” said Jefferson Mena, the Presidential Adviser for Human Rights and Affairs International.

The ICRC says that 486 victims of explosive ordnance were recorded in 2021, the highest number in the last 5 years. Of the 486, 258 were civilians and 76% of the cases occurred in Norte de Santander, Cauca, Chocó, Antioquia and Arauca. Added to this is the amount of confinement and displacement that occurred last year. By 2021, according to the above figures, 52,880 people were displaced, that is, there was an increase of 148% compared to 2020. This occurred, mainly in Nariño, Chocó, Cauca and Valle del Cauca.

Regarding lockdowns due to armed clashes, some 45,108 people were affected, 60% more than in 2020. The territory most affected by this was the Chocó. The CIRC notes that there were also 168 cases of disappearance in 2021, which, in other figures, would be two missing persons every other day. This, the Committee points out, would not even be the total, since many of the missing persons would not have been reported to the authorities.

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