12
Lieut. Lamilla, pilot of the Hughes – 500 (“Hunter”): “Owl needs to launch the cluster bomb.
Okay. Hawk and Harpy, hold, because here comes a big gift.”
Owl: “OK, show me where”
Hunter: “See the yellow road?”
Owl: “Where do you want it, Hunter? Tell me where you want it!”
Hunter: “To the right of the village there is a stand of trees. We want it on the whiskey edge
of that stand of trees.”
Owl: “The stand of trees further whiskey or the one nearby?”
Hunter: “The one nearby.” 32
53.
At 10:02 AM, the crew of FAC helicopter UH1H 4407, composed of the pilot, Lieut.
César Romero Pradilla; the co-pilot, Lieut. Johan Jiménez Valencia, and the aircraft technician,
Héctor Mario Hernández Acosta, launched a cluster munition made up of six fragmentation bombs
at the urban part of the village of Santo Domingo, 33 killing 17 people and wounding 27 others,
including 15 children. 34
54.
According to the judgment at first instance issued on September 24, 2009 in the
context of the domestic criminal proceeding, the yellow road that is mentioned in the video footage
from the Skymaster is joined on in a straight line to the paved road that is the only street in the
village of Santo Domingo, and to the north of it is a stand of trees very close to the homes where
the cluster bomb was launched. 35
55.
The AN-M1A2 cluster munition
[…] is composed of six fragmentation bombs or grenades, each weighing 20 pounds, secured
by an M1A3 quick-release adapter. The cluster bomb with the fuses installed (nose or head)
measures 46.6 inches, weighs 128 pounds, and is fitted with attachment lugs that allow it to
be adapted to an aircraft’s launcher. These grenades or fragmentation bombs are designed
for air-to-surface launch from an aircraft. 36
56.
Article 2 of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was adopted on May 30,
2008, and entered into force on August 1, 2010, defines a cluster munition as “a conventional
munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20
kilograms.” 37
32
Annex 4. Twelfth Criminal Court of the Bogotá Circuit with functions under Law 600 of 2000, Judgment at First
Instance, Case 2005-102, César Romero Pradilla et al., September 24, 2009, p. 45. Appendix 2 to the State’s brief of
October 5, 2010, received at the IACHR on October 6, 2010.
33
Annex 4. Twelfth Criminal Court of the Bogotá Circuit with functions under Law 600 of 2000, Judgment at First
Instance, Case 2005-102, César Romero Pradilla et al., September 24, 2009, p. 1. Appendix 2 to the State’s brief of
October 5, 2010, received at the IACHR on October 6, 2010.
34
Annex 4. Twelfth Criminal Court of the Bogotá Circuit with functions under Law 600 of 2000, Judgment at First
Instance, Case 2005-102, César Romero Pradilla et al., September 24, 2009, pp. 76 and 77. Appendix 2 to the State’s brief
of October 5, 2010, received at the IACHR on October 6, 2010, and Annex 5. Special Military Criminal Investigation Unit of
June 14, 2001, pp. 36 and 37. Appendix C.4 to the petitioners' brief received at the IACHR on October 28, 2003.
35
Annex 4. Twelfth Criminal Court of the Bogotá Circuit with functions under Law 600 of 2000, Judgment at First
Instance, Case 2005-102, César Romero Pradilla et al., September 24, 2009, p. 46. Appendix 2 to the State’s brief of
October 5, 2010, received at the IACHR on October 6, 2010.
36
Annex 6. Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation, Inspection and study of ballistics and explosives,
extended opinion, working group BA-0066/2000, April 28, 2000. Appendix B.2 to the petitioners' brief received at the
IACHR on October 28, 2003.
37
Convention on Cluster Munitions. Available at: http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/620?OpenDocument