A reported FARC massacre in the north of Colombia never took place, but was invented by a local with mental issues, local and national authorities said Sunday.
Authorities had gone to the town of Taraza in the north of Antioquia after a witness, who had said he was able to escape the mass killing, alerted local authorities and media about the now-denied massacre.
MORE: ‘Indigenous family massacred’ in northwest Colombia
The mother of the self-proclaimed witness told the Governor’s Office and police her son was suffering mental issues and that the alleged victims of the massacre never existed or had long died.
Following the mother’s interference, both the police and Antioquia governor Santiago Londoño publicly announced the massacre was a hoax.
Después de casi 3 días de tensión es da felicidad poder concluir que no existió la masacre en Tarazá. Gran trabajo de la Sec Gob de Tarazá.
— SantiagoLondoñoUribe (@slondonouribe) May 5, 2013
The area around Taraza has traditionally one of the FARC’s hotbeds and close to major coca cultivation fields.
Taraza, Antioquia
Sources
- Autoridades confirman que no hubo masacre en Tarazá (El Espectador)
- Autoridades desmientenmasacre de siete personas en Tarazá (El Tiempo)
