'Body count' scandal haunts Colombia presidential candidate

The front-runner in the polls for Colombia's presidential elections, Juan Manuel Santos, has come under fire from his rivals for his role in the scandal over young civilians killed by the army and passed off as guerrilla casualties, which broke out while he was defense minister. "All you have to do is look at the statistics: the period when the highest number of non-combat killings was…when Santos was minister," the opposition Liberal Party's presidential candidate Rafael Pardo said in early March. Santos, who was defense minister from July 2006 to May 2009, is the candidate backed by right-wing President Álvaro Uribe, in office since 2002. The scandal, which broke out in September 2008, led to the removal of three generals and 24 other officers and noncommissioned officers, as well as the November 2008 resignation of then army chief Gen. Mario Montoya, regarded as one of the promoters of the so-called "body count" system, which used incentives like weekend passes, cash bonuses, promotions and trips abroad to reward soldiers and officers for "results" in the counterinsurgency effort.