Colombia’s war crimes tribunal JEP indicted former army commander Jaime Lasprilla and four other generals for their alleged involvement in 200 homicides.
The generals are part of a group of 35 former soldiers who are accused of assassinating civilians in order to present them as guerrillas killed in combat in the Huila province.
Multiple army units from Huila carried out the mass killings between 2005 and 2008, according to the JEP.
At the time of the mass killings, Lasprilla and the other generals were in charge of the National Army’s 9th Brigade, which is located in Huila capital Neiva.
According to the JEP, the generals may be responsible for the mass killings for failing to take action against them.
Lasprilla and the other suspects may be sent to prison only if they refuse to cooperate with the transitional justice system.
If the JEP finds them guilty and cooperative, the war crimes tribunal has the power to convict war criminals to alternative sentences.
The JEP is investigating countless members of the military for their alleged involvement in more than 6,400 extrajudicial executions committed by the military between 2002 and 2008.
