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Digital recordings containing testimonies of Colombian drug lord Otoniel before the Truth Commission have been stolen, the body announced on Saturday, which demanded to be able to continue its work “without intimidation”.
These recordings were made on Wednesday by an investigator from the Truth Commission (JEP), a body that investigates human rights violations during the armed conflict in Colombia until the signing of the 2016 peace agreement. On February 18, 2022, unidentified people entered the investigator’s home during the night “, said the Commission in a press release. “ The digital recorders used for maintenance and a computer were stolen ».
On Thursday, the Truth Commission pointed out “ the need to provide guarantees so that the report » by Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias Otoniel, the most powerful drug trafficker in the country arrested at the end of 2021, « is received with confidentiality ».
A hearing interrupted
Colombian media denounce the alleged presence of police during the interrogations and once more on Thursday, the Colombian police interrupted a hearing of the drug baron, saying he suspected Otoniel of plotting his escape.
Dairo Antonio Usuga asked to be heard by the JEP and claims to have worked with the Colombian Armed Forces. He also admits to having been aware of violations of fundamental rights by the armed forces and to having financed paramilitary groups. The drug baron, who implicates General Leonardo Barrero Gordillo, ex-commander of the armed forces, also claims to have surrendered of his own free will.
On Saturday, the Truth Commission asked the authorities and the international community for conditions to continue its investigations “ without intimidation ». « The Commission needs to hear the truth from Mr. Usuga on facts crucial to understanding the dynamics of the armed conflict and its persistence (….). The truth is a right of victims and society “, she said.
The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia calls on “ the Colombian State to take immediate and urgent measures to guarantee and protect the work of the Commission. The Commission must be able to conduct their work without interference or intimidation demanded Juan Pappier of the NGO Human Rights Watch.
►Also read: Colombia arrests ‘Otoniel’, the most powerful drug trafficker in the country
(and with AFP)
