value to the said identifications and have used them to prove that Carlos Augusto Rodríguez
Vera left the Palace of Justice alive. 436
282. The next of kin of Luz Mary Portela León, David Suspes Celis, Gloria Anzola de Lanao,
Norma Constanza Esguerra Forero, Héctor Jaime Beltrán Fuentes and Ana Rosa Castiblanco
Torres did not identify them in any of the procedures described in the case file. 437 However,
in 2007, Cecilia Cabrera, Carlos Augusto Rodríguez Vera’s wife, stated that she believed
that she had seen David Suspes Celis in two videos. 438 The Third Criminal Court and the
51st Court accorded probative value to identifications of David Suspes Celis. 439 However,
the Superior Court, in the proceedings against the Commander of the Cavalry School,
questioned the credibility of these identifications because they were not made by his family
members and, in its opinion, they were not sufficiently clear. 440 However, the Chamber of
the Superior Court, in the proceedings against the Commander of the 13th Brigade,
considered that there was no doubt that the person identified by Cecilia Cabrera was David
Suspes Celis. 441
283. Although Héctor Jaime Beltrán Fuentes was not identified by any of his next of kin in
the videos, the Superior Court of Bogota in the proceedings against the Commander of the
Cavalry School, identified in a video “a young man who, because he was exiting with the
cafeteria employees’ group, […] following the same path towards the museum, with his
hands on his head, also heavily guarded by two soldiers, [could be] Héctor Jaime Beltrán.”
Despite this consideration, the Superior Court considered that “the body of evidence is
insufficient for this court to conclude that he has been officially identified.” 442 In this regard,
436
Cf. Judgment of the Third Criminal Court of the Bogota Special Circuit of June 9, 2010 (evidence file, folios 23991
to 23992); Judgment of the 51st Criminal Court of the Bogota Circuit of April 28, 2011 (evidence file, folios 24488,
24489 and 24491); Judgment of the 51st Criminal Court of the Bogota Circuit of December 15, 2011 (evidence file,
folios 20928 to 20930 and 20941); Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of January 30, 2012 (evidence file, folios
23220 to 23234), and Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of October 24, 2014 (evidence file, folios 38319 to
38328).
437
Nevertheless, the Court notes that Gloria Stella Lizarazo Figueroa’s husband indicated that he had recognized
Ana Rosa Castiblanco Torres in the video obtained during the inspection of the residence of the Commander of the
Cavalry School. However, one of the persons indicated by the deponent as Ana Rosa Castiblanco Torres had previously
been identified as Cristina del Pilar Guarín Cortés. Cf. Testimony of Luis Carlos Ospina Arias of December 10, 2007,
before the Prosecution Service (evidence file, folio 27940), and Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of January
30, 2012 (evidence file, folio 23108).
438
The deponent identified David in the video obtained during the inspection of the residence of the Commander of
the Cavalry School and a video of Noticiero 24 Horas, handed over by Ana María Bidegain and in the Beta video No. 1
obtained during the inspection of the Attorney General’s office. Cf. Testimony of Cecilia Cabrera of August 16, 2007,
before the Prosecution Service (evidence file, folio 28221).
439
Cf. Judgment of the Third Criminal Court of the Bogota Special Circuit of June 9, 2010 (evidence file, folios 24005
and 24006); Judgment of the 51st Criminal Court of the Bogota Circuit of December 15, 2011 (evidence file, folios
20960 and 20961), and Judgment of the 51st Criminal Court of the Bogota Circuit of April 28, 2011 (evidence file,
folios 24512 and 24513).
440
In this regard, it affirmed that Cecilia Cabrera’s “perception of who she is seeing in that video is unclear, because
she herself says: that it appears to be.” It also emphasized that the deponent had already seen the same video in
1988 and had not recognized him. Cf. Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of January 30, 2012 (evidence file,
folios 23112, 23117 and 23122).
441
In this decision, the Superior Court stated that Cecilia Cabrera, as manager of the cafeteria knew him well, so
that her identification “is a reliable source.” Following its own corroboration, it concluded that “[t]he similitude
[between the person in the video and the photographs of David Suspes Celis] left no doubt […] that it was the same
person.” Judgment of the Superior Court of Bogota of October 24, 2014 (evidence file, folios 38357 and 38362).
442
The respective Chamber of the Superior Court considered that “[a]s there has been no identification by any of his
family members or acquaintances in videos of people leaving the Palace, and it does not appear that any procedure
has been conducted in this regard, and as his brother, Mario, has adopted the attitude of distancing himself in order to
avoid harassment or other misfortune for his family,” doubt remains about whether he left the Palace alive. The
Chamber also stressed that, at the time of the possible exit of Héctor Jaime Beltrán Fuentes together with other
cafeteria employees, the brother of Mr. Beltrán Fuentes “was in the area of Carrera 8 with Calle 11, from where he
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