6 soldiers and 2 police officers detained for murdering civilians (U.S. ally Colombia)

Source: Colombia Reports

6 soldiers and 2 police officers detained for murdering civilians
Friday, 15 July 2011 11:49 Matt Snyder

Six soldiers and two police officials have been detained for murdering civilians and reporting them as guerrillas in "false positive" killings Friday, CM& Noticia reported.

The men were accused of killing two civilians on two different occasions.

In the first occasion, the soldiers and policemen were accused of murdering a farmer after she walked past a military patrol. She was later buried, claimed, and listed as an enemy killed in combat with the FARC. The attack occurred in 2004.

The group was also accused of killing Garcia Garcia, after he was arrested as he was traveling with his wife and children. The men then allegedly presented his body as a fallen guerrilla.

Read more: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/17671-6-soldiers-and-2-police-officers-detained-for-murdering-civilians.html

...(U.S. ally Colombia)?

Does that follow DU's LBN rules?

The biggest terrorist training camp in the world. Funded with our tax dollars.

Our friends and enemies, and everybody else's friends and enemies, have dirty cops and soldiers amongst their ranks. What's your point? Are all of the allies of your favorite country free of crime, corruption, and murderers?

This whole thing is a needless hold-over from the cold war. We give these people billions in aid to fight these "rebels", but often the rebels are just innocent people who are murdered by the military. I would agree that this was just a few criminals acting out if this were a unique occurrence, but it's not. This has happened time and time again for many years. It seems to almost be official policy, but still one where people will get punished when found out - kind of like torture in our Iraqi prisons.

Seven Colombian military members sentenced for 'false positives'
Thursday, 30 June 2011 14:56
Alexander Stone

Seven members of Colombia's military were each sentenced to 20 years in prison for their role in the "false positive" killings of three civilians who were then presented as enemy combatants.

The judge in Antioquia sentenced one official, two subofficials, and four soldiers for the murder of three street vendors, which took place on June 26, 2006.

~snip~
The case forms part of the scandal in Colombia which is known as 'false positives', where members of the public are unlawfully killed and presented as guerillas killed in combat.

There have been approximately 2000 'false positive' cases to date, linked to 1487 members of the military, of which nearly 100 have been sentenced to prison terms.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/17328-seven-colombian-military-members-sentenced-for-false-positives.html

Oh.. I'm sorry.. it's not free money.. it's "Foreign Aid"....

The interview happened in 2009, and Rep. Leahy says they get over $500,000,000 each year, so I would imagine it's over $9 billion by now....

“Colombia should pay more of the cost”

In the US Congress, Patrick Leahy is the key man as far as Plan Colombia is concerned. Leahy is the Chairman of the Foreign Operations Subcommittee, which is in charge of approving the money for this initiative. Juan Carlos Iragorri, Semana correspondent in the United States, interviewed the 69-year old Democrat, who argues that the Colombian government should finance a bigger part of Plan Colombia and that the financial crisis will reduce the help Washington sends to Bogotá.
April 20, 2009

~snip~
SEMANA: Do you agree with those who say the U.S. should not interfere in the sovereign affairs of Colombia?

P.L: The American people provide over half a billion dollars in aid to Colombia each year – more than to all other South American countries combined. A portion of the aid goes to the Colombian Army, and we expect the Army to respect human rights. It is not interference; it is upholding the rule of law in Colombia.

~snip~
SEMANA: With the economic crisis, will Plan Colombia funds decrease, or the Plan will continue?

P.L: We do not yet know how much President Obama will recommend in his 2010 budget for Colombia, but with the financial crisis I expect U.S. aid to decrease. After nine years and $8 billion in U.S. aid, it is time for Colombia to pay more of the cost. More:
http://www.semana.com/international/colombia-should-pay-more-of-the-cost/123087-3.aspx