The Palace of Justice siege (Toma del Palacio de Justicia in Spanish) was a 1985 attack against the Supreme Court of Colombia, in which members of the M-19 guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, Colombia, and held the Supreme Court hostage, intending to hold a trial against President Belisario Betancur. Hours later, after a military raid, the incident left all the rebels and 11 of the 25 Supreme Court Justices dead.^[1] Colombian Armed Conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current low intensity conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, which was when the FARC and later the ELN were founded and subsequently started their guerrilla insurgency campaigns against successive... Plan Colombia is a controversial initiative aimed at resolving the ongoing, fifty-year civil war in Colombia. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... According to the U.S. Department of State’s 2003 human rights report, Colombia’s human rights record, despite significant improvements by police and military forces in some areas, remained poor. ... Colombias Ministry of Defense, charged with the countrys internal and external defense and security, has an Army, Navy (which includes both marines and coast guard) Air Force, and National Police under the leadership of a civilian Minister of Defense. ... The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia–Peoples Army, in Spanish Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia–Ejército del Pueblo, also known by the acronym of FARC or FARC-EP is a communist revolutionary and illegally armed terrorist organization in Colombia. ... Ejército de Liberación Nacional (usually abbreviated to ELN), or National Liberation Army, is a revolutionary, Marxist, insurgent guerrilla group that has been operating in several regions of Colombia since 1964. ... The Popular Liberation Army, EPL (Ejército de Liberación Nacional), is a Colombian guerrilla group created in 1967. ... For other uses, see Black Eagle (disambiguation). ... Paramilitarism in Colombia refers to the origin and development of paramilitary groups in Colombia during the 20th century. ... M-19 banner The 19th of April Movement, Movimiento 19 de Abril or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. ... The AUCs logo The United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (Autodefensas Unidas de Colombia, or AUC, in Spanish), were formed in April 1997 as an umbrella paramilitary federation seeking to consolidate many local and regional paramilitary groups in Colombia, each intending to protect different local economic, social and political... The Alianza Americana Anticomunista (Anticommunist American Alliance aka Triple A) was a state terrorism and paramilitary far-right group mainly operating in Colombia during 1978 and 1979. ... CONVIVIR (Spanish for to coexist) was a national program of cooperative neighbourhood watch groups created by a February 11, 1994 decree of Colombias Ministry of Defense and a law passed in the Colombian Congress, in response to growing guerrilla activity. ... The Peasant Student Workers Movement (in Spanish: Movimiento Obrero Estudiantil Campesino) was a leftist group in Colombia. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Santa Marta Massacre, in Spanish, matanza de las bananeras[1] was a massacre of workers for the United Fruit Company that occurred on December 6, 1928 in the town of Cienaga near Santa Marta, Colombia. ... La Violencia (literally The Violence, in Spanish) is a term that refers to an era of civil conflict in Colombia between supporters of the Colombian Liberal PartybobColombian Conservative Party, a conflict which took place roughly from 1948 to 1958 (exact dates vary). ... Marquetalia Republic was a term used to unofficially refer to one of the enclaves in rural Colombia which Communist peasant guerrillas held during the aftermath of La Violencia (aprox. ... National Front (Spanish: 1958-1974) was a period in the history of Colombia in which the two main political parties; Liberal Party and Conservative Party agreed to let the opposite party govern, intercalating for a period of four presidential terms. ... The Dominican embassy siege was the 1980 siege of the embassy of the Dominican Republic by M-19 guerrillas in Bogotá, Colombia. ... The Unión Patriótica, Patriotic Union (UP), was a leftist Colombian political party founded by the FARC in 1985, as part of the peace negotiations that the guerrillas held with the Belisario Betancur administration. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The FARC-Government peace process (1999-2002), from January 7, 1999 to February 20, 2002, was a failed peace process between the Government of President Andres Pastrana and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group in an effort to bring to an end the ongoing Colombian Armed Conflict. ... The Bojayá Massacre ocurred in May 2, 2002 in the Colombian town of Bojayá, in Chocó province. ... The Colombian parapolitics scandal or parapolitica in Spanish (from the term Parapolitics), also known in the English-speaking press as the paragate (from the Watergate scandal), refers to the 2006 - present Colombian congressional scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians have been indicted for suspicions of colluding with the... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Drummond Company is a privately owned companey based in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, involved in the mining and processing of coal and coal products. ... The Colombian Conservative Party (Spanish: Partido Conservador Colombiano), is a conservative right wing / center right Colombian political party. ... Politics of Colombia Categories: Politics stubs | Liberal related stubs | Colombian political parties | Liberal parties ... The Colombian Communist Party is the legal Communist party of Colombia. ... The Clandestine Colombian Communist Party (in Spanish: Partido Comunista Colombiano Clandestino) is an underground communist party in Colombia. ... This article is about the year. ... The Supreme Court of Colombia is the highest judicial body in Colombia and leads the judicial branch of the Government of Colombia. ... M-19 banner The 19th of April Movement, Movimiento 19 de Abril or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. ... Motto: Bogotá, 2600 metros más cerca de las estrellas Bogotá, 2600 meters closer to the stars Localities (localidades) of Bogotá Country Department Foundation August 6, 1538 Government  - Mayor Luis Eduardo Garzón, PDA Area  - City 1,587 km²  (612. ... The supreme court functions as a court of last resort whose rulings cannot be challenged, in some countries, provinces and states. ... For other uses, see Hostage (disambiguation). ... List of Heads of State (Presidents etc. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

The siege

On November 6, 1985, 35 guerrillas burst into the Palace of Justice after arriving there in a stolen truck. The rebels killed the building's administrator and its few security guards, taking 300 people hostage, including the 24 justices and 20 other judges. The President of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Alfonso Reyes, was among those taken. About three hours after the initial seizure, government troops rescued about 200 hostages^[2] from the lower three floors of the courthouse; the surviving gunmen and remaining hostages occupied the upper two floors. is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Associate Justice or Puisne (pronounced puny) Justice is the title for a member of a judicial panel who is not the Chief Justice. ... The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth- or other countries with an Anglosaxon type of justice, such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of New Zealand, the Supreme...

A recording was delivered to a radio station soon after the seizure, saying that the M-19 group had taken over the building "in the name of peace and social justice". From the Supreme Court, the M-19 members demanded via telephone that President Belisario Betancur come to the Palace of Justice in order to stand trial and negotiate. The president refused and ordered an emergency cabinet session.

After the first hours of the siege, a fire broke out and burned numerous court records on the fourth floor, including the files of every extradition case.^[3]

The assault

The operation to retake the building was delegated by presidential order on General Jesús Armando Arias, commander of the Thirteenth Army Brigade stationed in Bogotá. He appointed Colonel Alfonso Plazas, commander of an armored cavalry battalion, to personally spearhead the operation. The retaking of the building began that same day and finally ended on November 7, when Army troops stormed the Palace of Justice, after having already occupied some of the first floors during the first day of the siege. After surrounding the building with EE-9 Cascavel armored cars and soldiers with automatic weapons, they stormed the building sometime after 2 pm. The EE-9s were employed to knock down the building's massive doorway, and even made some direct hits against the structure's external walls. The night of the assault, when inquired by the media as to what exactly was the purpose for the presence of the armored cars on the scene, Colonel Plazas gave a subsequently famous reply, "Defending democracy, maestro" (The word maestro – "master" – in Colombian slang, was used to refer to someone as "buddy" or "pal").^[4] is the 311th day of the year (312th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Colombian Army is the army of the Republic of Colombia. ... The EE-9 Cascavel is a 6x6 armoured car developed in the seventies by ENGESA of Brasil. ... A Rolls Royce armoured car 1920 pattern Railway shop workers built this vehicle for use by the Danish resistance movement near the end of World War II. For tracked, armored military vehicles, see Armored fighting vehicle. ...

There is still confusion as to the exact details of the assault, specifically as to what happened inside. Many of the hostages were said to have died in the crossfire between the rebels and government forces. It is believed that many of the hostages, at least 60, were moved to a public restroom in one of the upper floors by the guerrillas, and may have died when a group of government troops used explosives to enter the building via the rooftop. Flush toilet A toilet is a plumbing fixture devised for the disposal of bodily wastes, including urine, feces, menses and vomit. ...

According to a surviving hostage, magistrate Hernando Tapias, at a certain point in time a number of the justices in the restroom were executed by the M-19 rebels when they realized that the situation was "hopeless". The rebels were running out of ammunition and their position remained under constant bombardment by the Colombian military, which continued to fire despite the magistrate's verbal pleas. Tapias has stated that the guerrillas then ordered the justices to line up and fired in their direction, killing some and wounding others. Afterwards, several of those wounded, including Tapias, were allowed to leave by a reluctant Andrés Almarales, who had initially said that "all those of us who remain will die".^[5]

More than 100 people died during the final assault on the Palace. Those killed consisted of the hostages, government workers, soldiers and all of the guerrillas, including their leader Andrés Almarales and four other senior commanders of M-19. After the raid, another Supreme Court justice died in a hospital after suffering a heart attack. Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ...

Aftermath

The siege of the Palace of Justice and the subsequent raid was one of the deadliest attacks in Colombia in its war with leftist rebels. The M-19 group was still a potent force after the raid, but was severely hampered by the deaths of five of its leaders. In March 1990 it signed a peace treaty with the government. In politics, left-wing, political left, leftism, or simply the left, are terms which refer (with no particular precision) to the segment of the political spectrum typically associated with any of several strains of socialism, social democracy, or liberalism (especially in the American sense of the word), or with opposition... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... A peace treaty is an agreement (a peace treaty) between two hostile parties, usually countries or governments, that formally ends a war or armed conflict. ...

President Betancur went on national TV on the night of the seventh, saying he took full responsibility for the "terrible nightmare." He offered condolences to the families of those who died—civilians and rebels alike—and said he would continue to look for a peaceful solution with the rebels. Exactly a week later, on November 14, he would offer condolences for another tragedy: the eruption of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano, which killed 25,000 people. "We have had one national tragedy after another," he said. is the 318th day of the year (319th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Eruption can refer to: Volcanic eruption The eruption of teeth through the gum Eruption (band) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Space radar image of Nevado del Ruiz Nevado del Ruiz 2006 Nevado del Ruiz is an Andean stratovolcano in Caldas Department, Colombia. ... For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ...

This siege lead to the creation of the AFEUR unit within the Colombian Army to manage this kind of situations. Colombia's Armed Forces did not have antiterrorist units specifically trained for urban operations before the siege, and some partially blamed the final outcome on the relative inexperience of the personnel assigned to the task. Colombian Army AFEUR Badge AFEUR or Agrupación de Fuerzas Especiales Antiterroristas Urbanas (Urban Counter-Terrorist Special Forces Group) is an elite unit of the Colombian Army, whose primary mission is to perform counter-terrorist operations and hostage rescues based on stealth, surprise and team work. ... The Colombian Army is the army of the Republic of Colombia. ...

Alleged Mafia Links

The U.S. and Colombian governments shortly after the siege asserted that druglords masterminded the operation in order to get rid of various criminal files lost during the event. The Special Commission of Inquiry, established by the Betancur government after intense public pressure,^[6] released a June 1986 report which concluded that this was not the case.^[7] Most later observers have tended to undermine the claims of any close operational links between those parties and the M-19.^{[citation needed]}

Author Ana Carrigan, who quoted the June 1986 report in her book on the siege and originally dismissed any such links between the M-19 and the drug mafia, told Cromos magazine in late 2005 that she now believes that the mafia may have financially supported the M-19. ^[8]

On the same day of the siege, the Supreme Court's docket apparently called for the beginning of pending deliberations on the constitutionality of the Colombia-United States extradition treaty. The M-19 was publicly opposed to extradition on nationalist grounds. Several of the magistrates had been previously threatened by drug lords in order to prevent any possibility of a positive decision on the treaty. One year after the siege, the treaty was declared unconstitutional. ^[9]

Mauricio Gaona and Carlos Medellín Becerra, the sons of two of the murdered Supreme Court magistrates, have pushed for further investigations into the presumed links between the M-19 and the Medellín Cartel drug lords, arguing that they have evidence that may prove relevant upon judicial review. Congressman Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 guerrilla, has denied these accusations and dismissed them as based upon the inconsistent testimonies of drug lords. Petro says that the surviving members of the M-19 do admit to their share of responsibility for the tragic events of the siege, on behalf of the entire organization, but deny any links to the drug trade. ^[10] The Medellín Cartel was a well-organized network of drug smugglers originating in the city of Medellín in Colombia and operating through the 1970s and 1980s. ... Congress (Spanish: Congreso) is the name given to Colombias bicameral national legislature. ...

Impunity

Later investigations and commentators have considered both the M-19 and the military as responsible for the deaths of the justices and civilians inside the building. Some have blamed President Belisario Betancur for not taking the necessary actions or for failing to negotiate, and others have commented on the possibility of a sort of de facto "24 hour coup", during which the military was in control of the situation. De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...

According to Ana Carrigan's 1993 book The Palace of Justice: A Colombian Tragedy, Supreme Court Chief Justice Alfonso Reyes was apparently burned alive during the assault, as someone incinerated his body after pouring gasoline over it. The book also asserts that, after the siege was over, some twenty-eight bodies were dumped into a mass grave and apparently soaked with acid, in order to make identification difficult. Carrigan argued that the bodies of the victims of the Nevado del Ruiz volcano eruption, which buried the city of Armero and killed more than 20,000 people, were dumped into the same mass grave, making any further forensic investigations impractical. ^[11] Space radar image of Nevado del Ruiz Nevado del Ruiz 2006 Nevado del Ruiz is an Andean stratovolcano in Caldas Department, Colombia. ... Armero is the name of a city in Colombia that was buried by ash after a nearby volcano erupted, killing about 23,000 people. ... The word forensic (from Latin: forensis - forum) refers to something of, pertaining to, or used in a court of law. ...

Despite numerous investigations and lawsuits to date, impunity still prevails: no one has ever been punished with jailtime for the carnage at the Palace of Justice, and no definite responsibility has been fixed either on the government, the M-19, or on both parties. Ana Carrigan asserted in her 1993 book that "Colombia has moved on... Colombia has forgotten the Palace of Justice siege," in much the same way that, in her opinion, Colombians have also forgotten or adopted a position of denial towards other tragic events such as the 1928 Santa Marta Massacre. Impunity means exemption from punishment or loss.[1] In the international law of human rights, it refers to the failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a denial of the victims right to justice and redress. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Santa Marta Massacre, in Spanish, matanza de las bananeras[1] was a massacre of workers for the United Fruit Company that occurred on December 6, 1928 in the town of Cienaga near Santa Marta, Colombia. ...

The Missing

At least 11 people disappeared during the events of the siege, most of them Cafeteria workers, and their final fate has yet to be determined. It has been speculated that their remains may be among a number of unidentified bodies, one of which was identified* through DNA testing done by the National University of Colombia, leaving the fates of the other 10 still in question. [21] A Forced disappearance occurs when an organization (usually a ruling government and that is usually a police state or dictatorship) forces a person to disappear from public view. ... Beaux Arts Building, Bogotá, D.C.. Art Museum, Bogotá, D.C.. The Universidad Nacional de Colombia (National University of Colombia) is a public educational institution. ...

One of the disappeared was a law student and M-19 guerrilla named Irma Franco. Franco was seen by several hostages. She left with several hostages and was never seen again.^[22] The Special Commission of Inquiry confirmed Franco's disappearance, and the judges requested that the investigation of her case be thoroughly pursued.^[23]

One week after the siege, M-19 released a communique to the press claiming that six leaders, including Franco, and "seven other fighters" had all been "disappeared" and murdered by the army. From the tapes of the military and police inter-communications it is known that army intelligence arrested at least seventeen people in the course of the two day siege. None of the M-19 leaders, with the exception of Andrés Almarales, were ever identified in the city morgue.^[24]

Members of the military have claimed that they could have been guerrilla operatives in disguise which were working in the building under fake identities.

Some of their relatives and some human rights organizations have claimed that they could have been taken alive by the military and then killed outside or inside the building, possibly after being interrogated and tortured.

Ana Carrigan, investigative reporter and author of The Palace of Justice: A Colombian Tragedy, was given a cassette tape in May 1991 from the Bogotá Attorney General's office. The cassette tape, according to its own audio content, appeared to be from dissident B-2 agents, dropped off anonymously in the Attorney General's Office a week after the siege. The authors identify themselves on the tape as a group of noncommissioned officers in the B-2 army intelligence service. The dissident B-2 agents assert that seven prisoners were taken to a nearby military compound and tortured by the Intelligence and Counter Intelligence Battalion and these B-2 agents were forced to watch. The authors of the tape identify four of the cafeteria workers and claim they saw one prisoner drowned by interrogators. [25]

Recent Developments

The new Palace of Justice building.

The events surrounding the Palace of Justice siege received renewed media coverage in Colombia during the 20th anniversary of the tragedy. Among other outlets, the country's main daily El Tiempo, the weekly El Espectador, and the Cromos magazine published several articles, interviews and opinion pieces on the matter, including stories about the survivors, as well as the plight of the victims' relatives and those of the missing. [26][27] Image File history File linksMetadata PalacioDeJusticia2004-7-9Bogota. ... Image File history File linksMetadata PalacioDeJusticia2004-7-9Bogota. ... El Tiempo is the highest circulation daily newspaper in Colombia and the only non-tabloid daily with national distribution. ... El Espectador is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia. ...

Judicial Processes

On August 22, 2006, Attorney General Mario Iguarán announced that former Colonel Edilberto Sánchez, former B-2 intelligence chief of the Army's Thirteenth Brigade, would be summoned for questioning and investigated for the crimes of kidnapping and forced disappearance. Public prosecutors are to reopen the case after examining video tape recordings and identifying cafeteria manager Carlos Augusto Rodríguez being taken outside of the Palace of Justice alive by a soldier, together with other former M-19 hostages. ^[28] is the 234th day of the year (235th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Former Col. Sánchez was then detained, and has claimed that former Colonel Alfonso Plazas participated in some of the interrogations that followed the siege. In May of 2007, former Col. Plazas has been questioned by prosecutors about his possible role in the disappearance of Irma Franco and at least two cafeteria workers, who would have left the Palace alive. Plazas rejected the charges and proclaimed his innocence. He accepted that he could have received the order to cover the exit of some hostages from the Palace of Justice.^[29] Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

2005-2006 Truth Commission

The Supreme Court created a Truth Commission in order to restart the investigation, in an attempt to provide as much closure as possible to the impunity still surrounding the tragic events of the siege. The Commission officially began its work on November 3, 2005 and according to one of its members, Judge Jorge Aníbal Gómez, results are expected by November 2006. ^[30] Congressman Gustavo Petro of the former M-19 has welcomed the decision and asked all surviving members of the M-19 to collaborate with its work. [31] The Truth Commission, was a former stable in the WWE. It consisted of Kurrgan the Interrigator, Recon, Sniper, Tank and their manager; The Jackal. ... is the 307th day of the year (308th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Many of the surviving individuals involved are to be interviewed by the Commission. Several private hearings had already taken place by March 2006, including one in which former President Belisario Betancur participated. Betancur has also willingly testified before the Attorney General's office.

According to the newsweekly Semana, the Truth Commission may have found surprising new details about the tragedy, and the sessions may be being recorded on video in order to preserve as much accuracy as possible. ^[32] Revista Semana cover. ...

B-2 Vault

On May 14, 2007, El Tiempo published a report saying that Colombian prosecutors had found a secret vault of the former B-2 of the Colombian Army, which contained the wallet of Carlos Horacio Urán, an auxiliary justice of the Council of State who died during the siege, along with a list of "gunned down guerrillas", where his name was listed next to Manuel Gaona Cruz.^[33] May 14 is the 134th day of the year (135th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... El Tiempo is the highest circulation daily newspaper in Colombia and the only non-tabloid daily with national distribution. ... The Colombian Army is the army of the Republic of Colombia. ...

The wallet of Urán contained his ID, driver's license, and other personal effects. The wallet had a hole, apparently from a bullet. Urán's widow explained that the auxiliary justice carried the wallet in the upper pocket of his jacket, and explained that, after the siege ended, the corpse was given back to her with a bullet wound to the head and completely naked.^[34]

Along with the "gunned down guerrillas" list, government investigators found armbands of the Police's F-2 intelligence outfit, B-2 ID badges, two police badges and some rifle ammunition. There was also a document detailing a list of people that were "detained" and taken to B-2 installations, among them seven drivers, without specifiying who they were.^[35]

Notes

is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 145th day of the year (146th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

Further reading

• Carrigan, Ana (1993). The Palace of Justice: A Colombian Tragedy. Four Walls Eight Windows. 0941423824. 
• Echeverry, Adriana; Ana María Hanssen (2005). Holocausto en el silencio. Editorial Planeta.  (Spanish)
• Jimenez, Michael F. (September 5 1994). "Dead Beat: A Colombian Journalist's Life Inside the Cocaine Wars.". The Nation 259 (7): 246.  (Book review)
• Jimeno, Ramón (1989). Noche de lobos. Siglo Ventiuno Editores. 9589518613.  (Spanish)
• Peadar, Kirby (February 26 1994). "Palace where justice was put to death". The Irish Times: p. 8.  (Book review)
• McClintick, David (November 28 1993). "Lost in the Ashes". The Washington Post: p. X5.  (Book review)
• Riding, Alan (November 28 1993). "The Supreme Court Massacre". The New York Times: p. 9.  (Book review)
• Weiner, Lauren (December 26 1993). "Buffoonish Armageddon at the 'Palace of Justice'". The Washington Times: p. B8.  (Book review)

External links

• Photos of the siege Alternate
• Translation of Spanish Wikipage (Toma del Palacio de Justicia de Colombia en 1985)