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Colombia's Secret War Against Civilians

Nearly 12 years ago, Gloria Martinez's son went out to look for a job and never came back. Gloria would spend months searching for him, and she wasn't alone—many others, mostly young men from rural and poor urban areas, also mysteriously disappeared. In 2008, the "false-positives" scandal broke—and revealed that the Colombian military had been systematically killing innocent civilians as part of a body-count policy they adopted in the conflict against the FARC, a leftist guerilla group. But over a decade after the scandal was exposed, relatives of the victims continue to seek justice.

Update: After the publication of this story, the Jurisdicción Especial para la Paz (known as the JEP) issued an order for ex-general Mario Montoya to appear in front of the tribunal, and testify about his involvement in the "false-positives" cases. The hearing is set to take place on February 12, 2020.

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