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Former Colombian general jailed for role in Mapiripán massacre
A Colombian court has convicted a retired army general of murder and sentenced him to 40 years in prison for his role in a 1997 massacre by far-right militias.
The sentence of former general Jaime Humberto Uscátegui is the most severe imposed on a senior Colombian officer in a case of collusion with right=wing death squads.
A paramilitary force murdered at least 49 suspected guerrilla sympathizers in the village of Mapiripán from 15-20 July 1997. At the time, Uscátegui was a brigade commander in charge of a garrison where a pair of chartered planes carrying far-right gunmen landed. The men were then dispatched to oversee the massacre.
During the five-day killing spree, the local judge, Ivan Cortes, made repeated telephone calls for help to Uscátegui's subordinates but said they ignored his pleas to send troops to halt the massacre.