| 1LT Pedro Nei Acosta Gaivis | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Murder of 11 campesinos, 1990: Ordered the massacre of 11 campesinos, had his men dress the corpses like guerrilla forces, and then dismissed the killings as an armed confrontation between the Army and guerrillas. (ETEC) |
| GEN Norberto Adrada Córdoba | 1978, Training Management Course 1975, Special Maintenance Administration |
Disappearance, 18 June 1986: Covered-up of the murder of William Camacho Barajas and Orlando Garcia González, who were last seen alive in the hands of soldiers under Adrada Córdoba's command. (ETEC) |
| CPT Delmo William Alba Rincón | 1984, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Ramírez massacre, 1986: Implicated in the murder of 6 individuals (4 were tortured) from the home of the Ramírez family. (ETEC) |
| CPT José Ismael Alvarez Díaz | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Disappearance, 26 May 1982: Covered-up the murder of Gustavo Alveiro Muñoz Hurtado, last seen alive with soldiers under Alvarez Díaz' command. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Alejandro de Jesús Alvarez Henao | 1984, Joint Operations | Paramilitary death squad activity (MAS), 1982: Principal member of "Muerte a Secuestradores" (MAS), a paramilitary death squad responsible for numerous assassinations and disappearances. (ETEC) |
| CPT Gilberto Alzate Alzate | 1983, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Segovia Massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre at Segovia in which 43 people died, including several children. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Luis Enrique Andrade Ortiz | 1983, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Massacre of a judicial commission, 1989: Believed to be the intellectual author of the paramilitary massacre of 12 officials, including
2 judges, who were investigating military/paramilitary cooperations. Assassination, 1988: Ordered the assassination of farmer Jorge Ramírez, carried out by a military/paramilitary patrol under his command. Assassination, 1988: Ordered the assassination of José Sánchez, also carried out by military/paramilitary soldiers under his command. Then he had the corpse put on display for the benefit of the public. Ramírez family massacre, 1986: Andrade Ortiz was one of officers in charge of military/paramilitary soldiers who broke into the home of the Ramírez family, killed two members outright; and captured 4 others whose bodies were found later with signs of torture. (ETEC) |
| LTC Virgilio Anzola Montero | 1967, Cadet Orientation Course | Torture, murder of 5 campesinos, 1986: Covered-up the torture and murder of five campesinos by soldiers under his command.
(ETEC) Paramilitary death squad activity (MAS), 1982: Anzola Montero used a paramilitary death squad, "Muerte a Secuestradores" (MAS), to carry out assassinations and disappearances. |
| GEN José Maria Arbelaez Caballero | 1954, Communications Officer | Disappearances, 1982: Arbelaez Caballero provided false information to investigators, the media and human rights organizations in order to protect army and police personnel responsible for 13 disappearances in the Cundinamarca department. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Jaime Gabriel Arcos Negret | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Disappearance, 18 January 1988: Implicated in the disappearance of Héctor Suárez. (ETEC) |
| GEN Agustin Ardila Uribe | 1984, Command and General Staff College (Commandant's List) | lmprisoned town mayor for publishing poem against violence, 1993: In 1993, commander Ardila had town mayor Tirso Velez of Tibu
arrested and imprisoned for being a terrorist. His crime? Publishing a poem against both guerrilla and army violence.
(AW:SW) Commander, Mobile Brigade 2: Colombia's "Mobile Brigades" are unique in that they have no permanent base; their commanders answer only to the Army high command in Bogotá. Mobile brigade soldiers wear distinctive, U.S. Army-style camouflage and no name patches. A "broad, consistent and often shocking" pattern of serious human rights violations follows the Mobile Brigades - including Ardila's Mobile Brigade 2 - throughout the Colombian countryside. (AW:SW) |
| CPT Carlos Javier Arenas Jiménez | 1987, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Torture of 19, 1988: Participated in the detention and torture of 19 individuals in June 1988, one of whom sustained permanent damage to both arms. (ETEC) |
| 2LT Julio Arenas Vera | 1985, Combat Arms Orientation Course | Assassination, 1986: Implicated in the revenge-killing of of communist Gustavo Alfonso Macias Borja. (ETEC) |
| GEN Victor Julio Arévalo Pinilla | 1975, Special Maintenance Administration 1971, Engineer Officer Course |
Torture, murder, 1989: Strongly implicated in the torture and murder of Reinaldo Cuenca Wilson and Liliana Camacho Ipuz, and in the attempt to make their deaths appear guerrilla-related. (ETEC) |
| *MAJ Julio Elias Barrera Bustos | 1982, Joint Operations Course | Paramilitary death squad activity (MAS), 1981-82: Protected and aided the military/paramilitary death squad MAS. |
| GEN César Eugenio Barrios Ramírez | 1968, Military Intelligence Officer Course | Murder 1987: Protected and covered for soldiers responsible for the extrajudicial execution of 3 campesinos, and the attempt to disguise the incident as an armed confrontation with guerrillas. (ETEC) |
| *LTC Luis Felipe Becerra Bohórquez | Not "formally enrolled." (See below.) | Urabá massacre, 1988: Colombian records indicate Becerra Bohórquez attended the U.S. Army School of the Americas
in the early 1990's while a warrant was out for his arrest for his leading role in the massacre of 20 banana workers. The SOA claims Becerra
Bohórquez was never "formally enrolled" in officer training there. Like Victor Bernal Castaño (next page), and other officers in this
section (indicated by *), it appears the Colombian Army sent Becerra Bohórquez to the SOA to avoid criminal investigations at home. Riofrío massacre, 1993: Becerra eventually led another massacre, this time murdering 13 civilians at Riofrío. In November 1993, under intense international pressure, Colombia dismissed Becerra from the military. (MFIR, AW:SW, ETEC) |
| *GEN Harold Bedoya Pizarro | 1978-79, SOA Guest Instructor 1965, Military Intelligence Course |
Paramilitary death squad activity, 1965 - present: "Throughout Bedoya's entire career, he has been Implicated with the sponsorship
and organization of a network of paramilitary organizations. Bedoya, who has never undergone any investigation for his involvement in the
massacres of non-combatants or other dirty-war crimes, is an articulate proponent of the continued "legal" involvement of local populations in
counterinsurgency operations." (Ana Carrigan, NACLA Report on the Americas, March/April 1995) Paramilitary death squad activity ("AAA"), 1978: Believed to be the founder and chief of the paramilitary death squad known as "AAA" (American Anti-communist Alliance). (ETEC) Fired by President Ernesto Samper, July 24, 1997: Officially dismissed from his position as chief of the armed forces for "reasons of state" but Defense Minister Gilberto Echeverri suggested it was because of Bedoya's unwillingness to commit to improving the military's poor human rights record.Reuters, 7/27/97 |
| CPT Pedro Vicente Bermúdez Lozano | 1981, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Urabá massacre 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 20 banana workers. Although an investigation called for the dismissal of the soldiers involved, a military court acquitted them, citing lack of evidence. Bermúdez was even promoted (along with Becerra Bohórquez, above) during the army's Investigation" of the massacre. (ETEC, AW:SW) |
| *LTC Victor Bernal Castaño | 1992, Command and General Staff College | Fusagasugá massacre, 1991: Colombian legislature asserts that Bernal Castaño was enrolled at the SOA to avoid having
to answer to investigators about the Fusagasugá massacre of a peasant family. (Charles Call, MH, 9/9/92) The SOA enrolled
him in its longest and most prestigious course, the Command and General Staff College, and made him "Jefe del Curso," (Chief of Course).
(LL) Disappearance, 1989: Implicated in the disappearance of campesina Sandra Vélez Vélez. Paramilitary death squad activity (Hure): Protected and aided the "Hure" death squad in its criminal activities, including assassinations and disappearances. (ETEC) |
| CPT José Gabriel Castrillon Garcia | 1990, Infantry Officer Basic Course | Disappearance, 1987: Strongly implicated in the abduction and subsequent disappearance of José Jairo Medina Ramírez. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Mauricio Cervera Bonilla | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Illegal detention, torture, 1989: Participated in the illegal detention and torture of a union leader and 2 banana workers. (ETEC) |
| COL Luis Arturo Cifuentes Mogollón | 1973, Auto Maintenance Officer Course | Torture, assassination, 1986: Strongly implicated in the torture and extrajudicial execution of M-19 member Yolanda Acevedo Carvajal. (ETEC) |
| LTC Hernán Alfonso Contreras Soler | 1971, Special Maintenance Orientation | Torture, disappearance, 1977: Contreras Soler oversaw the capture and torture of Mauricio Trujillo and Omaira Montoya Henao. Montoya Henao was subsequently disappeared. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Edgar Ferrucio Correa Copola | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Llana Caliente massacre, 1988: One of the officers responsible for the massacre of 20 or more campesinos detained during a march demanding schools and health clinics. (ETEC) |
| CPT Dario Enrique Cortés Castillo | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Torture, 1988: Participated in the detention and torture of 19 individuals. One victim sustained permanent damage to both arms. (ETEC) |
| 2LT Rómulo Cortés Gordon | 1985, Combat Arms Orientation Course | Assassination, 1986: Implicated in the revenge-killing of communist Gustavo Alfonso Macias Borja. (ETEC) |
| 2LT Tomas Emilio Cruz Amaya | 1988, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Fusagasugá massacre, 1991: In March 1993, Colombia's attorney general ordered the dismissal of Cruz Amaya for his role in the Fusagasugá massacre of a peasant family. (AW:SW) |
| LTC Carlos Eduardo Dávila Romero | 1967, Cadet Orientation Course | Paramilitary activities (MAS), 1987-88: Involvement with paramilitary death squads, including"MAS," at times aided by Israeli mercenaries. (ETEC) |
| COL Rito Alejo Del Rio Rojas | 1967, Cadet Orientation Course | Paramilitary activity, 1985: Implicated in paramilitary activities, including the theft of an Army weapons shipment. (ETEC) |
| COL Jaime Alberto Escobar Garzón | 1981, Command and General Staff College | Paramilitary activities (MAS), 1982: Implicated in activities associated with the rightist military/paramilitary death squad "MAS" (Muerte a Secuestradores, or 'Death to Kidnappers.* (ETEC) |
| *1LT Germán Espinoza Rubio | 1982, Patrol Operations (Dropped) 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics |
Assassinations, 1982: Assassinated several campesinos. (ETEC) |
| LTC Manuel José Espitia Sotelo | 1991, Command and General Staff College 1982, Tactical Officer for 2 separate Cadet |
Escape of Pablo Escobar, 1992: Espitia Sotelo was forced into early retirement in August 1992 after drug kingpin Pablo Escobar "escaped" from prison, where he was living in grand style. Espitia Sotelo was commander of the military police battalion guarding the prison. (AW:SW) (Escobar was discovered and killed in 1993.) |
| COL Edgar Hernando Falla Alvira | 1967, Cadet Orientation Course | Assassinations, 1987: "Intellectual author" of the assassinations of Unión Patriótica leaders José Dario Rodriguez and Fabiola Ruiz. (ETEC) |
| GEN Carlos Arturo Farfán Quiroga | 1971, Special Maintenance Orientation | Paramilitary activity, 1987: Publicly supported paramilitary death squads responsible for the assassinations and deaths of several campesinos. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Jorge Flóres Suárez | 1972, Military Intelligence Officer Course | Paramilitary death squad ("AAA") activity, 1978: Strongly implicated in the activities of the military/paramilitary death squad "AAA." (ETEC) |
| 2LT Octavio Fonseca Hoyos | 1985, Combat Arms Orientation | Disappearance, 15 September 1987: Strong evidence links Fonseca Hoyos to the disappearance of Ramón Salvador Angarita Solano. (ETEC) |
| CAP Héctor Alirio Forero Quintero | 1977. Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Disappearances, torture, 1988: Commanded a patrol that disappeared 4 people on February 11, 1988. On the same day, he himself detained 2 more individuals and tortured them with the help of fellow SOA graduate Carlos Morales del Rio (below). The last two victims were released to civilian authorities several days later. (ETEC) |
| LTC Luis Fabio Garcia Correra | 1985, Command and General Staff College | Denouncing human rights workers, 1993: "In May, June and July 1993, senior army officers of the Nueva Granada Battalion based in Barrancabermeja verbally attacked CREDHOS (Regional Committee for the Defense of Human Rights) workers when they inquired about or tried to visit detainees on the army base. On several occasions, officers, including Battalion Commander Luis Fabio García, accused CREDHOS members of being spokespersons for the guerrillas.' - Quoted from Americas Watch Report, State of War:- Political Violence and Counterinsurgency in Colombia, December 1993. |
| GEN Daniel Enrique García Echeverry | 1976, Command and General Staff College 1961, Military Intelligence |
Paramilitary activity, 1983 - 88, including Urabá massacre: García Echeverry established and ran paramilitary forces wherever he was stationed. Witnesses and ex-members of his units have testified as to his role in planning and running squads in Antioquia and Santander, including his involvement with the paramilitaries who carried out the Urabá massacre of twenty banana workers in 1988. (ETEC) |
| COL Fernando Garcia Morales | 1967, Cadet Orientation | Paramilitary activity, 1986: Ex-members of a paramilitary group from Puerto Boyacá testified that Garcia Morales protected, aided and participated in paramilitary activities during his tenure as a commander of the "Barbula" battalion. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Luis Roberto García Ronderos | 1983, Patrol Operations | Segovia massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 43 people, including several children, in the town of Segovia. (ETEC) |
| GEN Ramón Emilia Gil Bermúdez | 1988, Guest Speaker 1969, Maintenance Orientation |
Corruption, 1994: Dismissed from his position as commander of Colombian Armed Forces on November 22, 1994, in an effort by President
Ernesto Samper to root out corruption and drug trafficking among the Colombian armed forces. (Reuters, 11/22/94) Death squad activity (MAS) 1982: Established, protected, and participated in the activities of the rightist death squad "MAS." (ETEC) |
| GEN Carlos Julio Gil Colorado | 1969, 0-6 | Paramilitary activity (including MAS), 1980 - 92: The highest ranking of 7 officers indicted in November 1992 for involvement with paramilitary groups in the Santander department. (AI:CPV, AW:SW, HRWWR94, ETEC) |
| CPT Bernardo Gil lsaza | 1981, Cadet Arms Orientation | Urabá massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 20 banana workers. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Juan Fernando Gómez Gallego | 1985, Combat Arms Orientation | Paramilitary activity, 1987: Implicated in activities linked to the paramilitary death squad ROJO-ATA. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Leonardo Gómez Vergara | 1983, Cadet Branch Orientation | Disappearance, 18 June 1986: Implicated in the disappearance of William Camacho Barajas and Orlando García González. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Jorge González | 1985, Combat Arms Orientation | Paramilitary activity (MAS), 1981-82: Implicated in activities of the right-wing paramilitary death squad MAS, or "Muerte a Secuestradores" (Death to kidnappers). (ETEC) |
| MAJ Luis Miguel González Monroy | 1992, Officer Administration Course 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics |
Illegal detention, torture, extrajudicial execution, 10 May 1986: Implicated in the detention, torture and murder of Yolanda Acevedo Carvajal. (ETEC) |
| GEN Manuel Jaime Guerrero Paz | 1988, SOA "Hall of Fame" | Mistreatment of prisoners, 1982: In 1982, soldiers under Guerrero Paz' command tortured four prisoners, one of whom died of his injuries.
(ETEC) Illegal detention, 1988: In a measure of questionable legality, he personally issued orders for the arrest of ten union leaders, most of whom were released within two weeks without charge. Amnesty International 1989 Paramilitary activities: Throughout his tenure as armed forces chief and defense minister, the relationship between the Colombian military and paramilitaries remained close, and impunity was the rule for crimes committed by both. (CITL) |
| COL Carlos Guerrero Peña | 1985, Command and General Staff College 1977, Military Intelligence Officer |
Paramilitary activity, 1986: Strongly implicated in paramilitary activity in Puerto Boyacá (Boyacá). (ETEC) |
| GEN Marino Gutiérrez lsaza | 1985-86, Guest instructor 1973, Military Police Intelligence Officer Course |
Disappearance, Murder, 1982: Implicated in the disappearance of Gustavo Albeiro Muñoz Hurtado on 26 May 1982. His cadaver was found the following July 4. (ETEC) |
| GEN Hernán José Guzmán Rodríguez | 1993, SOA "Hall of Fame" 1969, Maintenance Orientation |
Former Commander, Colombian Army, dismissed: With five other top military officers, Guzmán Rodríguez was dismissed
on November 22, 1994 by President Ernesto Samper. Samper overhauled the military leadership in the hopes of decreasing corruption and drug
trafficking in the armed forces, and Improving the human rights record of the military. (Reuters, 11/22/94) Paramilitary activity (MAS), 1987-90: Guzmán Rodríguez protected and aided paramilitary death squad MAS between 1987 and 1990, when it was responsible for the deaths of at least 149 people. (ETEC) Illegal detention, torture, extrajudicial execution, 1986: Guzmán Rodríguez commanded the soldiers who detained, tortured, gang raped and executed Yolanda Acevedo Carvajal - then concocted the story that she committed suicide by shooting herself in the nape of her neck. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Hermann Hackspiel Olano | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Urabá Massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 20 banana workers. (ETEC) |
| COL Roberto Hernández Hernández | 1970, Automotive Maintenance Officer 1976, Tactical Officer, Small Unit Infantry Tactics |
Paramilitary activity, 1980-90: Consistently implicated in paramilitary activities in association with members of the extreme right. Torture, 1990: Supervised the illegal detention and torture of 42 people, most of whom were union members and human rights workers. Trujillo massacre, 1990: Implicated in the gruesome killings in Trujillo, in which many victims were dismembered with chainsaws. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Edgardo Hernández Navarro | 1985, Combat Arms Orientation Course | Segovia massacre, 1988: Implicated in the early evening massacre of 43 people, including several children, in the town of Segovia. (ETEC) |
| CPT Alejandro Herrera Fajardo | 1977, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Disappearance, 1982: Implicated in the disappearances of 13 people in Cundinamarca between 4 March and 11 September 1982. (ETEC) |
| 2LT Albeiro Herrera Castaño | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation (Engineer) | Disappearance, 1988: Implicated in the disappearance of 4 peasants in the Santander department. (ETEC) |
| COL Leopoldo Hipolito Hincapié Segrera | 1971, Automotive Maintenance Officer Course | Disappearance, 1988: Implicated in the detention and disappearance of René Herreño Ortega. (ETEC) Torture, 1979: Participated in the detention and torture of Olga López Jaramillo. (ETEC) |
| GEN Hernán Hurtado Vallejo | 1954, Anti-Aircraft Artillery/Automatic Weapons | Disappearance, murder, 1982: Implicated in the disappearance of Gustavo Albeiro Muñoz Hurtado, who was detained in May, and whose cadaver was found the following July. (ETEC) |
| CPT Gilberto lbarra | 1983, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Used children to detonate mines, 1992: On February 12, 1992, Ibarra forced 3 peasant children to walk in front of his patrol to detonate mines and spring ambushes. Two were killed; one was seriously wounded. (FTI) |
| CPT Cenén Dario Jiménez Leon | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Assassination, 1988: Strongly implicated in the assassination of union leader Manuel Gustavo Chacón Sarmiento, whose
assassination in broad daylight incited five days of strikes and confrontations between the military and the citizens of Barranca. (ETEC,
CITL) Disappearance, 1988: Strongly implicated in the illegal detention, beating and disappearance of Héctor Suárez. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Miller Tarcisio Koy Nuñez | 1983, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Assassination, 1986: Implicated in the assassination of Unión Patriótica member Pedro Net Jiménez. (ETEC) |
| GEN Fernando Landázabal | 1950, Basic and Heavy Weapons | Refusal to submit to civilian democratic authority, 1983: Landazábal was forced to retire as Colombia's defense minister in 1983, when he refused to honor a government mandated amnesty for certain guerrilla factions. (CITL) |
| 1LT Carlos Alberto Lasprilia Ramírez | 1984, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Disappearance, 1988: Implicated in the disappearance of René Herreño Ortega. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Samuel Lesmes Castro | 1984, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Torture, murder, 1986: Participated in the torture of Yolanda Acevedo Carvajal, and aided in the cover-up of her assassination. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Harvey Bernardo Londoño Muñoz | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Disappearance, murder, 1989: Implicated in the disappearance of Reinaldo Cuenca Wilson and Liliana Camacho Ipuz, whose bodies were blown up near a pipeline in order to seem like a guerrilla operation gone wrong. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Germán Arturo Lopera Restrepo | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Disappearance, 1982: Implicated in the disappearance of 13 people between 4 March and 11 September 1982. (ETEC) |
| CAP Fernando López Cifuentes | 1992, Combat Arms Officer Advance Course | Torture, murder, 1987: Implicated in the brutal torture and murder of César Aqite Ipia and Miguel Ipia Vargas. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Luis Fernando Madrid Barón | 1978, Small Unit Tactics | Paramilitary activity, 1987: Implicated in the activities of a paramilitary group which killed 149 people from 1987 to 1990. Cited as the intellectual author of many of the assassinations. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Cesar Maldonado | 1987, Cadet Arms Orientation | Forced civilian to guide, 1991: On patrol as part of Mobile Brigade 2, Maldonado and another lieutenant forced peasant Pedro Paternina Argumedo off of a public bus, made him put on an army uniform, and forced him to guide them for 8 days, without contact with his family. This is not an unusual tactic for Mobile Brigade personnel, who wear US camouflage uniforms, are responsible to no local authority, and wear no name tags. (AW:SW) |
| MAJ Carlos Enrique Martínez Orozco | 1975, Guerrilla Warfare Operations | Massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 18 miners in Antioquia, whose body parts washed in pieces down the river Nare.
Martínez Orozco was subsequently promoted. Paramilitary activity, 1990: Protected a chief paramilitarist responsible for high-profile assassinations; and in June 1992 was charged in a military court for his connection to paramilitaries. (AI:CPV, ETEC) |
| GEN José Nelson Mejía Henao | 1989, SOA "Hall of Fame" 1961, Counter Resistance Course |
Use of U.S. counternarcotics funds for counterinsurgency campaign: Former Chief of Staff, Colombian Army. Generals Nelson Mejía Henao and Luis Eduardo Roca thanked the US Congress in 1991 for $40.3 million in anti-narcotics aid which was used (illegally) in counterinsurgency campaigns in northeastern Colombia, where narcotics are neither grown nor processed. (Ruth Conniff in The Progressive, May 1992) |
| CAP Carlos Armando Mejía Lobo | 1989, Psychological Operations Course 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course |
Assassination, 1984: Ordered the extrajudicial execution of communist Oscar William Calvo. (ETEC) |
| CAP Carlos Vicente Meléndez Bohada | 1978, Training Management Course | Paramilitary activity (MAS), 1982: Implicated in paramilitary activities associated with the rightwing paramilitary death squad MAS. Assassinations, 1976-77: Implicated in the assassination of campesinos Gilberto Vanegas and Alicidio Vanegas. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Luis Antonio Meneses Báez | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Paramilitary activity, 1981 -1991: Engaged in all manner of paramilitary activities -- including illegal detentions and extrajudicial executions - and described himself as a "coordinator" of armed forces and military intelligence. (AI:CPV, ETEC) |
| GEN Pedro Nel Molano Vanegas | 1962, Counterinsurgency Operations Course | Torture, murder, 1978: Strongly implicated in the torture and murder of ELN member Jose Manuel Martínez Quiroz. (ETEC) |
| CPT Tomas Monroy Roncancio | 1981, Patrol Operations 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics |
Murder (6 counts, convicted), 1986: In June 1992, a military court convicted Monroy and 2 sergeants for detaining six workers ("suspected subversives"), forcing them into a cave, and slitting their throats. (AW:SW) |
| LTC Mario Montoya Uribe | 1993, SOA Guest Instructor 1983, Tactical Officer, Cadet Arms Orientation |
Paramilitary activities (AAA), 1978-79: Implicated in paramilitary activities (specifically, bombings) of the paramilitary group known as "AAA." (ETEC) |
| MAJ Carlos Alfonso Morales Del Rio | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Paramilitary activity, 1988: One of three Army officers believed to have run a death squad which operated in San Vicente de Chucuri and El Carmen (Santander). (ETEC) |
| CAP Juan Carlos Morales López | 1989, Engineering Orientation Course for Cadets | Paramilitary activity, 1998: One of four members of the 17th Brigade arrested July 23, 1998, in the northwest banana-growing region of Uraba for alleged links to a paramilitary group. El Colombiano, 7/24/98 |
| MAJ Manuel Orlando Moreno Martínez | 1975, Guerrilla Warfare Operations | Murder of 3 woodcutters, 1988: Implicated in the murder of 3 woodcutters. (ETEC) |
| GEN Gustavo Pardo Ariza | 1971, Irregular Warfare Operations | Escape of Pablo Escobar, 1992: Pardo was one of three Army officers (two of them SOA graduates) forced into retirement upon the "escape" of Pablo Escobar from prison. Pardo was head of the Fourth Brigade in Medellin; soldiers under his command were supposed to be guarding the prison from which Escobar literally walked away. (AW:SW) |
| GEN Rafael Peña Rios | 1971, Special Maintenance Orientation Course 1967, IW Operations |
Stated baldly in an interview with El Tiempo that the military should be a force of repression. He bemoaned the fact that the military no longer had complete control of Colombia, equated political opposition (such as the Unión Patriótica) with guerrilla warfare, and said that the way to end military abuse of authority was to give back to the military complete authority. (CITL) |
| MAJ William Fernando Perez Laiseca | 1977, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Torture, 1988: Participated in the detention and torture of 19 people in Pereira (Risaralda). (ETEC) |
| CAP Eduardo Alfonso Pico Hernández | 1983, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Urabá Massacre. 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 20 banana workers. (ETEC) |
| *LTC Roberto Pizarro Martinez | 1981, SOA Guest Instructor | Murder, 1986: Implicated in the murder of Victor Manuel Aroca and the ensuing attempt at a cover-up. (ETEC) |
| CPT Gustavo Adolfo Pizza Giviria | 1982, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Assassination, 1987: Implicated in the assassination of Unión Patriótica presidential candidate Jaime Pardo Leal. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Luis Fernando Plata Aldana | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation | Llana Caliente massacre, 1988: Plata Aldana commanded one of the companies whose soldiers fired indiscriminately into a crowd of campesinos detained during a march demanding schools and health clinics in the Santander department. (ETEC) |
| GEN Eduardo Plata Quinoñes | 1977, Command and General Staff College (Distinguished Graduate) 1969, Maintenance Orientation |
Trujillo massacre, 1990: At the very least, Plata Quinoñes is believed to have covered for officers involved in the gruesome campaign of killing and dismemberment in and around Trujillo in the spring of 1990. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Norberto Plata Sánchez | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Torture, murder, 1980: Participated in the torture of four M-19 members, one of whom died. (ETEC) |
| CAP José Bertoli Porras Amaya | 1981, Cadet Arms Orientation | Torture, 1990: Participated in the torture of 42 people over 7 days, most of whom were members of labor unions or human rights groups. (ETEC) |
| 1LT José Oswaldo Prada Escobar | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Disappearance, paramilitary activity, 1988-89: Implicated in paramilitary activities including disappearance, assassination, and the massacre of a judicial commission investigating military/paramilitary cooperation. (ETEC) |
| CAP Orlando Hernando Pulido Rojas | 1983, Cadet Branch Orientation | Torture, murder, 1988: Implicated in the torture of Felemón Cala Reyes in September 1988, and in his murder on 14 March
1989. Paramilitary activity, 1987: Participated in a paramilitary death squad responsible for the assassination of 149 campesinos between June 1987 and April 1990. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Marco Aurelio Quintero Torres | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Torture, 1988: Tortured Jorge Ivan Pulgarin Arcila during 9 days in March 1988. Later that year, Quintero Torres participated in the torture of 19 people, one of whom sustained permanent damage in both arms. (ETEC) |
| GEN Néstor Ramírez Mejía | 1985 Command and General Staff College (Distinguished graduate) | Assassination, 1986: Implicated in the revenge-killing of Gustavo Alfonso Macías. (ETEC) |
| CAP Carlos Hugo Ramírez Zuluaga | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation | Paramilitary death squad activity (MAS), 1981 -82: Colombian attorney general named Ramírez Zuluaga as one of several Army officers who were part of the military/paramilitary death squad MAS (Muerte a Secustradores, or "Death to Kidnappers"). (ETEC) |
| MAJ Luis Fernando Ricardo Perdomo | 1987, Psychological Operations Course | Paramilitary death squad activity (MAS), 1981-82: Colombian attorney general named Ricardo Perdomo as one of several Army officers who were part of the military/paramilitary death squad MAS. (ETEC) |
| GEN Luis Eduardo Roca Malchel | 1991, SOA "Hall of Fame' | Misuse of counternarcotics funds. In 1991, this former Army chief of staff, with cohort José Nelson Mejía Henao (above),
thanked Congress for $40.3 million in anti-narcotics aid, which they said would be used (illegally) in counterinsurgency campaigns in
northeastern Colombia, where narcotics are neither grown nor processed. (Ruth Connill, The Progressive, May 1992) Torture, 1988: Covered for those who tortured 19 people over 3 weeks in June 1988, one of whom sustained permanent damage to both arms. (ETEC) |
| GEN Luis Alberto Rodríguez | 1978, Command and General Staff College 1970, "O-7" |
Former head, joint chiefs of staff, dismissed along with 5 other top military officers: Rodríguez was dismissed on November 22, 1994 by President Ernesto Samper. Samper overhauled the military leadership in the hopes of decreasing corruption and drug trafficking among the armed forces, and improving the human rights record of the military. (Reuters, November 22, 1994) |
| GEN Francisco Augusto Rodríguez Arango | 1969, Maintenance Orientation Course | Murder, 1986: Covered for those responsible for the revenge-killing of communist Gustavo Alfonso Macías. (ETEC) |
| GEN Luis Alvaro Rodríguez Fontecha | 1975, Guerrilla Warfare Operations | Paramilitary death squad activity (MAS), 1981-82: Named by the Colombian attorney general in 1983 as a member of the military/paramilitary death squad MAS. (ETEC) |
| CPT Mario Raúl Rodríguez Reynoso | 1978, Small Unit Tactics | Murder, 1989: Implicated in the disappearance of Amparo Tordecilla. (ETEC) |
| GEN Raúl Rojas Cubillos | 1971, Special Maintenance Orientation | Urabá massacre, 1988: Implicated in the early morning massacre of 20 banana workers. (ETEC) Segovia massacre, 1988: Implicated in the early evening massacre of 43 people, including several children, in a central park in the town of Segovia. Several children were among the dead. (ETEC) |
| CPT Luis Fernando Rojas Espinoza | 1984, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Segovia massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre at Segovia. (ETEC) |
| 1LT José Hugo Rojas Guzmán | 1986 Cadet Arms Orientation | Paramilitary activity, 1989: Led a military/paramilitary death squad in Magdalena Medio. (ETEC) |
| 2LT Alejandro Rojas Pinilla | 1985, Cadet Arms Orientation | Disappearance, 1987: Implicated in the abduction and disappearance of Ramón Salvador Angarita Solano from his home in the Santander department. (ETEC) |
| 1LT William Fernando Rubio Moreno | 1986, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Murder, 1988: Implicated in the murder of three woodcutters in Magdalena Medio. (ETEC) |
| GEN Jaime Ruiz Barrera | 1970, Military Intelligence Officer Course | Assassination of Colombian attorney general, 1988: Implicated in the assassination of Colombian attorney general Carlos Mauro Hoyos. Torture, murder, 1979: Ordered the assassination of Claudio Medina Caycedo and the disposal of his corpse. (ETEC) |
| LTC Francisco E Ruiz Florian | 1976, Tactical Officer, Small Unit Infantry | Assassination, 1986: Obstructed investigations into the revenge-killing of communist Gustavo Alfonso Macias. (ETEC) |
| CPT Marco Antonio Salazar Duque | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Paramilitary (MAS) activity: Investigations by the attorney general and others indicated that Salazar Duque participated in the military/paramilitary death squad MAS, and was personally responsible for the assassination of at least one individual. (ETEC) |
| CPT Juan Carlos Salazar Salazar | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Illegal detention, torture, 1988: Participated in the detention and torture of 19 individuals, one of whom sustained permanent damage to both arms. (ETEC) |
| GEN Juan Salcedo Lora | 1979, SOA Guest Instructor 1971, Special Maintenance Orientation |
Illegal detention, 1988: Ordered the illegal and clandestine detention of Manuel Reyes Cárdenas. (ETEC) |
| GEN Rafael Samudio Molina | 1988, SOA "Hall of Fame" 1970, SOA Guest Instructor |
Massacre at the Palace of Justice, November 7, 1985: Oversaw the Army massacre at the Palace of Justice following an attempt by the M-19 to take it over. The Army under his command set the building ablaze, resulting in the needless and horrifying deaths of many of the hostages. Other hostages were killed in Army crossfire, or, as some suspect, direct assassination. Even the hostages who lived through the horrifying ordeal were not safe; some were killed before exiting the palace and others were arrested and disappeared immediately upon leaving the building. Taped conversations between Samudio Molina and his commanders in the building establish that at no time did Samudio Molina act as an agent of the civilian government, but rather used the situation to prove the brutality of the Colombian military and to eliminate individuals, including Supreme Court justices, who were not staunch enough allies of the Colombian Army. (POJ) Samudio Molina has also been implicated in paramilitary activities since 1978. (ETEC) |
| CPT Humberto Sanchez Rey | 1990, Advanced Combat Officer Course 1982, Cadet Arms Orientation |
Assassination of Unión Patriótica presidential candidate, 1987: Implicated in the drug-financed assassination of Jaime Pardo Leal, Unión Patriótica presidential candidate. (ETEC) |
| GEN Manuel Sanmiguel Buenaventura | 1962, Counterinsurgency Operations | Urabá massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre of twenty banana workers. Torture, 1979: Participated in the torture of Olga López and Augusto Lara Sánchez. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Carlos Eduardo Santacruz Estrada | 1983, Cadet Arms Orientation | Segovia massacre, 1988: Implicated in the early evening massacre of 43 unarmed people, including children, in a Segovia park. (ETEC) |
| COL Ramón de Jesús Santander Fuentes | 1986, Command and General Staff College (Distinguished graduate) | Massacre, 1989: Implicated in the military/paramilitary massacre of a judicial commission investigating military/paramilitary cooperation. (ETEC) |
| MAJ José Ismael Sierra Sierra | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Disappearance, 1982: Covered for those who disappeared Gustavo Albeiro Muñoz Hurtado. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Carlos Arturo Suárez Bustamante | 1981, Tactical Officer, Cadet Arms Orientation | Assassination, 1986: Commanded the company that conducted the revenge-killing of Gustavo Alfonso Macias Borja. (ETEC) |
| GEN Celso Suárez Martínez | 1975, Special Maintenance Administration | Massacre at the Palace of Justice, 1985: Implicated in the disappearance of hostages who survived the Army's brutal handling of the M-19 takeover of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá. (ETEC) |
| MAJ Luis Alberto Tobo Peña | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Torture, assassination, 1984: Implicated in the torture and murder of communist Luis Fernando Lalinde Lalinde. (ETEC) |
| GEN Hugo Arturo Tovar Sanchez | 1967, Tactical Officer, Cadet Orientation Course | Clandestine detention, 1989: Ordered the illegal clandestine detention of Argiro Alonso Avendano Palacio and Maricela Cuello Villamil. (ETEC) |
| COL Orlando Elain Tovar Trujillo | 1979, SOA Guest Instructor 1967, Cadet Orientation Course |
Torture, 1988: Implicated in the military operation in which 19 individuals were arrested and subsequently tortured. One victim sustained permanent damage to both arms. (ETEC) |
| COL Victor Manuel Trujillo Hoyos | 1983-84, Guest Instructor | Paramilitary death squad activity (MAS), 1981-82: Protected and aided the military/paramilitary death squad MAS while assigned to the Fifth Brigade. (ETEC) |
| 1LT Orlando Ulloa Gaitán | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Assassination, 1987: Implicated in the drug-financed assassination of Unión Patriótica presidential candidate Jaime Pardo Leal. (ETEC) |
| GEN Luis Bernardo Urbina Sanchez | 1985, Command and General Staff College | Paramilitary death squad activity, 1988-89: Fellow SOA graduate Meneses Baez confessed to Urbina Sanchez' involvement in paramilitary
death squads, which he referred to as "self-defense' groups. Disappearance, assassination, 1989: Implicated in the assassination of Amparo Tordecilla. Assassination, 1987: Implicated in the assassination of Unión Patriótica member Alvaro Garcés Parra. Disappearance, torture, assassination, 1987: Ordered the detention, torture and assassination of Mario Alexánder Granados Plazas. Disappearance, 1986: Intellectual author of the detention/disappearance of William Camacho Barajas and Orlando García González. Torture, disappearance, 1977: Implicated in the torture of Omaira Montoya Henao and Mauricio Trujillo, and the subsequent disappearance of Omaira Montoya. (ETEC) |
| CPT Jairo John Uribe Cárdenas | 1980 Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Paramilitary activity, 1986: Implicated in paramilitary activities, including assassinations and disappearances, in Llanos Orientales. Ramírez massacre, 1986: Implicated in the murder of 2 members of the Ramírez family, and the torture and murder of 4 others. (ETEC) |
| COL Alirio Antonio Urueña Jaramillo | 1976, Small Unit Infantry Tactics | Trujillo chainsaw massacres, 1988-1991: From 1988 - 1991, at least 107 citizens of the village of Trujillo were tortured and murdered. An eye-witness said Major Alirio Antonio Urueña tortured prisoners (including elderly women) with water hoses, stuffed them into coffee sacks, and chopped them to pieces with a chainsaw. The eye-witness was soon disappeared; Major Urueña was promoted to Colonel. After intense international outcry, Urueña was dismissed from the Army in February 1995. (AP, 2/7/95; ETEC) |
| *GEN Juan José Alfonso Vacca Parilia | 1980, Guest Instructor | Urabá massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 20 banana workers on the morning of March 4, 1988. Disappearance, 1988: Implicated in the disappearance of Manuel Reyes Cárdenas. Assassination, 1987: Implicated in the assassination of Alvaro Garcés Parra, mayor of Sabana de Torres. Paramilitary activity (MAC), 1985: Created a military/paramilitary death squad known as "Muerte a Comunistas" (Death to Communists) Torture, 1979: During his tenure there, the Escuela de Caballeria was a torture center. Olga López Jaramillo was tortured there. (ETEC) |
| CPT Hugo Alberto Valencia Vivas | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Segovia massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre at Segovia in which 43 people died, including several children. (ETEC) |
| LTC Bayardo Vasquez Valdes | 1977, Automotive Maintenance Officer | Disappearance, 1989: Implicated in the disappearance of Sandra Vélez Vélez. (ETEC) |
| CPT Freddy José Velandia Bottia | 1980, Cadet Arms Orientation Course | Torture, 1989: Commanded the patrol that detained and tortured a union leader and 2 banana workers over several days in March 1989. (ETEC) |
| GEN Jesús Maria Vergara Aragon | 1971, Special Maintenance Orientation Course | Fusagasugá massacre, 1991: Failed to investigate the massacre for days after it happened, insisting publicly that guerrillas were responsible for killing a peasant family and two other men. (AW:SW) |
| GEN Farouk Yanine Díaz | 1990, Guest speaker 1991, Guest speaker 1969, Maintenance Orientation Course |
Urabá massacre, 1988: Implicated in the massacre of 20 banana workers in Antioqua in March 1988. Assassination, 1987: Implicated in the assassination of the mayor of Sabana de Torres, Alvaro Garcés Parra. Paramilitary activities (MAS), 1984-85: Implicated in paramilitary activities associated with the death squad MAS. (ETEC) |
| GEN Nacim Yanine Díaz | 1971, "O-7" | Disappearance, 1982: Implicated in the disappearance of 13 people between March and September of 1982. (ETEC) |
| GEN Hernando Camilo Zuñiga Chaparro | 1978, Command and General Staff College 1968, Military Intelligence Officer Course |
Torture, 1988: Commanded the unit responsible for the torture of 19 people in June 1988, one of whom sustained permanent damage to
both arms. Clandestine detention, 1988: Ordered the clandestine detention of José Manuel Reyes Cárdenas. Disappearance, 1985: Implicated in the disappearance of guerrillas and hostages following the M-19's doomed attempt to takeover the Palace of Justice. Torture, disappearance, 1977: Ordered the detention and torture of Omaira Montoya Henao and Mauricio Trujillo. Omaira Montoya Henao was never seen again. (ETEC) |
Information researched by Vicky Imerman.
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