the looting were members of the FARC, citing the following evidence: (i) the Skymaster video of
December 16, 1998;397 (ii) the video of the inspection carried out on December 28, 1998,398 and
(iii) the decision of October 2, 2002, of the Disciplinary Delegation for the Defense of Human
Rights concerning the looting.399
276. With regard to the foregoing, the Court notes that, although the testimony of the inhabitants
of Santo Domingo indicated that the members of the Army “[had] rob[bed] everything that was
there,” referring in particular to “clothes [and] belongings,” even the “theft of hens,”400 this is not
based on direct observation of the acts. The only eyewitness evidence presented by the
representatives consists in two statements by inhabitants of Santo Domingo indicating that soldiers
had entered some homes, including that of Margarita Tilano, and had consumed products from her
store, specifically tomatoes, beer and soft drinks.401 On the other hand, the Court observes that
evidence has been presented indicating that members of the FARC guerrilla were present in Santo
Domingo on the days following the events of December 13, 1998.402
277. Therefore, the evidence provided does not allow the Court to conclude definitively that the
only combatants present in the village after December 13, 1998, were members of the Colombian
Armed Forces. Consequently, there is insufficient evidence to consider the State responsible for the
looting and destruction that is attributed to it by the Commission and the representatives. It should
also be recalled that the decision of the Disciplinary Delegation for the Defense of Human Rights of
October 2, 2002, concerning the acts of looting underscores that “the rules of experience [indicate]
that the members of the Armed Forces have no interest in appropriating veterinary medicines or
serums, [and that] this is characteristic of the subversives or of common criminals.”403 Likewise,
the Court observes that the nature and importance of the property reported as stolen (veterinary
medicines, heaters, gas cylinders, dishes, clothes, cooking utensils, electric appliances, tape
recorders, audio equipment, zinc roof tiles) could be more consistent with the State’s hypothesis.
278. Finally, although it is possible to conclude from the testimony of the community’s teachers
who were in Santo Domingo on December 14, 1998, together with the Red Cross, that members of
the Army had taken the tomatoes, beer and soft drinks (supra para. 276), the Court also notes
that the said acts do not involve serious consequences for the victims.
397
Cf. Video of December 16, 1998 (evidence file, tome 19, folio 9622), when at 08:07 a.m. the presence of FARC in
the village is recorded.
398
Cf. Video of inspection procedure of December 28, 1998 (evidence file, tome 19, folio 9619), which, at minute
04:03, shows graffiti alluding to the FARC illegal armed group on the walls of the homes.
399
Cf. Attorney General’s Office. Special Disciplinary Commission, decision of October 2, 2002. Case file 155-4556400 (evidence file, tome 20, folios 10409 and ff.).
400
Colombian Military Forces. Air Force. Military Criminal Investigation Unit. Record of statement made by Olimpo
Cárdenas. Tame (Arauca) December 28, 2000 (evidence file, tome 15, folio 7890). See also: Attorney General’s Office
National Special Investigations Directorate Human Rights Unit, Record of the statement made by Wilson Garcia Reatiga,
Tame (Arauca), June 17, 1999 (evidence file, tome 4, folio 1492); Attorney General’s Office National Special Investigations
Directorate Human Rights Unit, Record of the statement made by Luis Sel Murillo Villamizar, Tame (Arauca) June 19, 1999
(evidence file, tome 4, folio 1415); Testimony of Luis Sel Murillo provided on December 21, 1998, before the 24th Military
First Instance Court, pp. 2 and 3 (evidence file, tome 4, folio 1406), and Testimony of Jaime Rojas in newspaper article: El
Tiempo, “Dos historias distintas de un mismo ataque”, December 17, 1998 (evidence file, tome 14, folio 7353).
401
Cf. Attorney General’s Office. General Directorate for Special Investigations. Human Rights Unit. Record of the
statement made by Martin López Trigos. Tame (Arauca) June 19, 1999 (evidence file, tome 16, folios 8269). See also:
Attorney General’s Office. General Directorate for Special Investigations. Human Rights Unit. Record of the statement made
by Luz Claudelina Estrada Chavez. Tame (Arauca) June 17, 1999 (evidence file, tome 4, folios 1509 and ff.).
402
Cf. Video Inspection procedure del December 28, 1998 (evidence file, tome 19, folio 9619), which, at minute 04:03
shows graffiti alluding to the FARC illegal armed group on the walls of the homes. See also: Skymaster video of December
16, 1998 (evidence file, tome 19, folio 9622), where at hour 08:07 a.m. the presence of the FARC in the village is recorded,
and Testimony of Maria Cenovia Panqueva, an inhabitant of Santo Domingo, contained in: Attorney General’s Office. Special
Disciplinary Commission, decision of October 2, 2002. Case file 155-45564-00 (evidence file, tome 20, folios 10409 and ff.),
in which she recalls that, when returning to the village, she found graffiti relating to the FARC and the ELN on the walls of
the pharmacy.
403
Attorney General’s Office. Special Disciplinary Commission, decision of October 2, 2002. Case file 155-45564-00, p.
31 (evidence file, tome 20, folio 10438).
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