Colombian military tried to 'cover up' responsibility in Mapiripan massacre: US documents .

Colombian military tried to 'cover up' responsibility in Mapiripan massacre: US documents .
Saturday, 14 July 2012 10:17 Adriaan Alsema

The Colombian military tried to "cover up" the responsibility of a high-level commander in the 1997 Mapiripan massacre by falsely implicating a lower-ranked official, the state department said in a declassified 2003 letter.

The Colombian military tried to "cover up" the responsibility of a high-level commander in the 1997 Mapiripan massacre by falsely implicating a lower-ranked official, the state department said in a declassified 2003 letter.

The declassified letter is part of a series of documents regarding the controversial massacre obtained by The National Security Archive, a non-profit organization aimed at declassifying U.S. government documents.

In the letter, the State Department said that former Army Lieutenant Colonel Hernan Orozco "was blocked" in trying to obtain reinforcements to prevent and stop the massacre "by his chain of command and that he was subsequently charged by military authorities of complicity in the massacre in an effort to confuse and cover up the responsibility of others."

The State Department said in the letter they believed Orozco, who had claimed he warned his superior, General Jaime Uscategui, on the first day of the massacre, but was pressured by the general to omit parts in a letter warning about the impending massacre by members of paramilitary organization AUC in which dozens were killed over five days.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/25076-colombian-military-tried-to-cover-up-responsibility-in-mapiripan-massacre-us-documents.html