Colombia’s government must compensate the family of a deceased soldier after the Supreme Court ruled his death was caused by negligence, local media reported Wednesday.
According to news outlets, Colombia’s State Council ruled that the helicopter mission that resulted in Pedro Antonio Mosquera’s death in 2001 was poorly planned and did not take into account the unsuitable weather conditions.
Magistrate Danilo Rojas was particularly concerned that despite heavy cloud cover and poor visibility, the order was still given to proceed with the mission.
The court ordered the state to pay the victim’s family $959,000 in compensation for moral and material damages — the most Colombia’s government has ever been ordered to pay for the death of an officer of the Armed Forces outside of combat tasks.
