PBI-Colombia accompanies CREDHOS and CCAJAR on 25th anniversary of massacre in Barrancabermeja

Published by Brent Patterson on March 10, 2024March 10, 2024

PBI-Colombia has posted: “The truth must be worked on.” We accompanied @Credhos_Paz [the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights] and @Ccajar [the José Alvear Restrepo Lawyers’ Collective] in the commemoration of the collective of victims of #MasacreOfFebruary28 and in the hearing of macro-case 008 before the JEP [Special Jurisdiction for Peace].”

Massacre in Barrancabermeja in 1999

The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) has also posted: “In #Barrancabermeja , #Santander, Judge Catalina Díaz, correlator of #Caso08, accompanied the commemorative act of #MassacreOfFebruary28 of 1999, in which 8 people were murdered, another 2 disappeared and 2 more were injured at the hands of paramilitary groups.”

And the United Nations Verification Mission in Colombia posted: “We accompanied @JEP_Colombia the commemorative event in tribute to the victims of the #MassacreofFebruary28 of 1999 in Barrancabermeja. The Colectivo 28 de Febrero and @Credhos_Paz presented the documentary ‘Aquel 28’ and a photographic gallery in tribute to the victims.”

Recent attack on CREDHOS

On February 14, El Tiempo reported: “The Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) rejected the attack on the home of a member of the Regional Corporation for the Defense of Human Rights (CREDHOS), a collective victim accredited in the Magdalena Medio macro-case 08, which investigates crimes committed by the security forces, state agents in association with paramilitary groups, or civilian third parties in the armed conflict.”

That article adds: “The criminal act occurred on the night of February 13, just three days after former Army Captain José Eduardo González Sánchez, former coordinator of Ecopetrol’s Security Department, gave his version of this case before the Truth Recognition Chamber. At the hearing, the JEP recalled, Gonzalez recounted how the alliance between the military, paramilitaries and Ecopetrol operated for the paramilitary takeover of southern Bolívar and Barrancabermeja, a city where at least six massacres were perpetrated between 1998 and 1999.”

Photo: José Eduardo González Sánchez (right) during the proceedings at the JEP.

BluRadio also notes: “The JEP urgently calls on the Attorney General’s Office to clarify and determine those responsible for the grenade attack that left three people injured, including a child, in Barrancabermeja, Santander. The house where the grenade exploded, apparently by a woman, is home to the family of a worker from CREDHOS. According to reports, at 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, February 13, unidentified persons on a motorcycle threw an explosive device at the house.”

We continue to follow this with concern.

PBI-Colombia has accompanied CREDHOS since 1994 and CCAJAR since 1995.

#MasacreDel28DeFebrero