Private sector behind mass killing of Colombia's social leaders: prosecution
Private sector behind mass killing of Colombia’s social leaders: prosecution
by Adriaan Alsema August 26, 2018
Colombia’s private sector is using death squads to assassinate social leaders who seek the return of stolen land, according to the country’s prosecution.
Authorities have long claimed that drug traffickers and ELN guerrillas were behind the killings, but top officials told President Ivan Duque on Thursday that businessmen are behind many of the killings to prevent the restitution of land they stole during the war.
According to Deputy Prosecutor General Maria Paulina Riveros, the private sector’s ties to organized crime and paramilitary groups are particularly problematic in the Antioquia province and the Uraba region.
At least 39 palm oil companies have been convicted for using paramilitary death squads to steal land between 1997 and 2005 in the Uraba region alone, Rivera said. Her office is also investigating ranchers.
More:
https://colombiareports.com/private-sector-behind-mass-killing-of-social-leaders-prosecution/
LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142144330
