43
identity of all those responsible for his execution. Justice has not been done by means of a
punishment proportionate to the gravity of the facts, nor have the corresponding
reparations been made that are essential to compensate the damage caused.” “Only two
individuals have been convicted for the execution of Jesús María Valle Jaramillo and they
have never been brought before the authorities; in other words, they have not been
detained and made available to respond for the facts.” In addition, the representatives
indicated that, “even though the State acknowledged the possibility that State agents could
have been responsible for the crime, none were charged in the criminal investigations.” On
this last point, the representatives referred to the review undertaken by the Prosecutor
General’s Office of the decision of May 21, 1999, that concluded that there was no evidence
of the participation of State agents and, in particular, of the Commander of the Army’s
Fourth Brigade, in the murder of Jesús María Valle Jaramillo. The representatives alleged
that the evidence produced by the Prosecutor’s Office “contained genuine and grave
indications of the participation of State agents in the murder of […] Valle Jaramillo.” For
example, in the said decision of May 21, 1999, the prosecutor stated that Jesús María Valle
Jaramillo’s name “appeared on Carlos Castaño Gil’s lists as a candidate for assassination, at
the request of the Commander of the Army’s Fourth Brigade headquartered in Antioquia.”
Similarly, the representatives alleged that the State’s responsibility arises from the
“common evidence” that, according to the informative deponent, Sandra Jeannette Castro
Ospina, exists relating to the facts relating to the Ituango Massacres and to the murder of
Jesús María Valle Jaramillo.107 Thus, the representatives concluded that, with regard to the
violation of Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the Convention, the “full international responsibility”
of the Colombian State should be declared, not only for its omissions, but also for its
affirmative acts.
147. The State acknowledged that it “had failed partially to comply with its obligation to
investigate, prosecute, and punish all those responsible in an exhaustive and effective
manner within a reasonable time [with respect to] the extrajudicial execution of Jesús María
Valle Jaramillo, and his detention and subjection to cruel, inhuman, and degrading
treatment together with his sister Nelly Valle, and Carlos Jaramillo Correa.” In this regard,
the State recognized “that the criminal and disciplinary proceedings carried out to date had
not complied fully with its duty to provide reparation in the form of justice and truth for the
victims, their next of kin, and society, because all those responsible for the facts had not
been included in the investigations and because these investigations had not been
conducted within a reasonable time and, in brief, had not complied effectively with their
purpose.” Despite the foregoing, in its brief with final arguments, the State indicated that in
the criminal proceedings in which two civilians were convicted of the murder of Valle
Jaramillo, “their pursuit, individualization, accusation, and trial were carried out within a
reasonable time […] because the pre-trial investigation took 19 months and the trial stage
lasted 24 months, which does not constitute a violation of the right embodied in Article 8(1)
of the American Convention. Accordingly, the State guaranteed partially the right of the
alleged victims and their next of kin to know the truth of what happened, including how,
when, and where it happened, and its obligation to punish the perpetrators of the violent
death of Jesús María Valle Jaramillo.” In addition, the State indicated that the criminal
proceedings “were initiated ex officio and immediately, establishing as an hypothesis of the
investigation: (i) the authorship and participation of individuals (members of self-defense
groups who were operating in the zone), owing to the denunciations that Jesús María Valle
Jaramillo had made regarding the Ituango massacres, [and] (ii) the participation of
members of the Army in retaliation for Jesús María Valle Jaramillo’s denunciations
concerning alliances and connivance between members of the Army and paramilitary groups
107
Statement made by the deponent providing information, Sandra Jeannette Castro Ospina, during the
public hearing held at the seat of the Inter-American Court on February 6 and 7, 2008.