BINCI
Encyclopedia
The Batallón Único de Inteligencia y Contrainteligencia (Battalion of Intelligence and Counterintelligence) of the Colombian National Army. The BINCI has also been referred to as the "Charry Solano battalion," after its original chief, Brigadier General Ricardo Charry Solano.
It has also been known as the Twentieth Brigade or Brigade XX.
unit and under direct operational control of the E-2 Army intelligence directorate in Bogotá
, Colombia
.
A declassified
1979 report from the United States Embassy in Bogotá, published in 2007 by the National Security Archive
, mentioned that there was a plan for the BINCI to form a paramilitary
operation under the guise of the Alianza Americana Anticomunista
(AAA). The report describes the goal of the formation of the AAA as "to create the impression that the American Anti-communist Alliance has established itself in Colombia and is preparing to take violent action against local communists
." The BINCI, acting as the AAA, has been linked to the December 1978 bombing of the Colombian Communist Party
Headquarters, the bombing of the Communist Party newspaper Voz Proletaria. It has also been accused of engaging in other kidnapping
s, bombings and assassination
s against leftist
targets and guerrilla detainees.
(19th of April Movement) (M-19) guerrilla group. On September 12, 1987 her body was found, showing signs that she had been shot once in the head execution style
. On July 9, 1995, Colombia's Procurator-Delegate for Human Rights, Hernando Valencia Villa, announced the conclusions of a disciplinary investigation into the 1987 "disappearance
", torture
and murder
of Nydia Erika Bautista and called for Brigadier General Álvaro Hernán Velandia Hurtado and an army sergeant to be expelled from the armed forces. It was found that the then commander of Brigade XX for which the "Charry Solano" Army Battalion was attached, was fully aware of the capture, disappearance, torture and murder of Nydia Erika Bautista by men under his command and that he had had the "duty, power and opportunity to prevent this serious crime from being committed".
and human rights lawyer Eduardo Umaña. In May 1998 the Twentieth Brigade assaulted the offices of Justicia y Paz (Justice and Peace) where they were reported to have ransacked the offices and forced nuns and human rights workers to their knees and placed guns to their heads.
On May 19, 1998, the BINCI was disbanded pending a reorganization, in part due to their participation in human rights abuses.
It has also been known as the Twentieth Brigade or Brigade XX.
Triple A
During the years of its operation, the BINCI was considered the Colombian National Army's primary counter-intelligenceCounter-intelligence
Counterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
unit and under direct operational control of the E-2 Army intelligence directorate in Bogotá
Bogotá
Bogotá, Distrito Capital , from 1991 to 2000 called Santa Fé de Bogotá, is the capital, and largest city, of Colombia. It is also designated by the national constitution as the capital of the department of Cundinamarca, even though the city of Bogotá now comprises an independent Capital district...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
A declassified
Declassified
Declassified is an American television series produced by Ten Worlds Productions on The History Channel that originally aired on November 9, 2004. The series takes viewers inside vaults and archives around the world to reveal the untold stories of modern history...
1979 report from the United States Embassy in Bogotá, published in 2007 by the National Security Archive
National Security Archive
The National Security Archive is a 501 non-governmental, non-profit research and archival institution located in the George Washington University in Washington, D.C.. Founded in 1985 by Scott Armstrong, it archives and publishes declassified U.S. government files concerning selected topics of US...
, mentioned that there was a plan for the BINCI to form a paramilitary
Paramilitary
A paramilitary is a force whose function and organization are similar to those of a professional military, but which is not considered part of a state's formal armed forces....
operation under the guise of the Alianza Americana Anticomunista
Alianza Americana Anticomunista
The Alianza Americana Anticomunista was believed to be a paramilitary far-right group mainly operating in Colombia between 1978 and 1979.Contemporary accusations and declassified U.S...
(AAA). The report describes the goal of the formation of the AAA as "to create the impression that the American Anti-communist Alliance has established itself in Colombia and is preparing to take violent action against local communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
." The BINCI, acting as the AAA, has been linked to the December 1978 bombing of the Colombian Communist Party
Colombian Communist Party
The Colombian Communist Party or PCC is the legal communist party of Colombia. It was founded in 1930, as the Colombian section of the Comintern...
Headquarters, the bombing of the Communist Party newspaper Voz Proletaria. It has also been accused of engaging in other kidnapping
Kidnapping
In criminal law, kidnapping is the taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, usually to hold the person in false imprisonment, a confinement without legal authority...
s, bombings and assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
s against leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
targets and guerrilla detainees.
Forced Disappearance
On August 30, 1987, Nydia Erika Bautista de Arellana was kidnapped by a group of undercover operatives identified as part of Brigade XX. Nydia Erika was 30 years old and had previously been detained due to her student activism and membership in the Movimiento 19 de Abril19th of April Movement
The 19th of April Movement or M-19, was a Colombian guerrilla movement. After its demobilization it became a political party, the M-19 Democratic Alliance , or AD/M-19.The M-19 traced its origins to the allegedly fraudulent presidential elections of 19 April 1970...
(19th of April Movement) (M-19) guerrilla group. On September 12, 1987 her body was found, showing signs that she had been shot once in the head execution style
Execution-style murder
Execution-style murder, also known as Chicago-style murder, and execution-style killing are news media buzzwords applied to various acts of criminal murder where the perpetrator kills at close range a conscious victim who is under the complete physical control of the assailant and who has been left...
. On July 9, 1995, Colombia's Procurator-Delegate for Human Rights, Hernando Valencia Villa, announced the conclusions of a disciplinary investigation into the 1987 "disappearance
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
", torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
and murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of Nydia Erika Bautista and called for Brigadier General Álvaro Hernán Velandia Hurtado and an army sergeant to be expelled from the armed forces. It was found that the then commander of Brigade XX for which the "Charry Solano" Army Battalion was attached, was fully aware of the capture, disappearance, torture and murder of Nydia Erika Bautista by men under his command and that he had had the "duty, power and opportunity to prevent this serious crime from being committed".
Assaults
On February 27, 1998, the BINCI was implicated by Colombian government investigators in the murders of human rights workers; lawyer Jesús María Valle, president of the "Héctor Abad Gómez" Permanent Committee for Human Rights in AntioquiaAntioquia Department
Antioquia is one of the 32 departments of Colombia, located in the central northwestern part of Colombia with a narrow section that borders the Caribbean Sea. Most of its territory is mountainous with some valleys, much of which is part of the Andes mountain range...
and human rights lawyer Eduardo Umaña. In May 1998 the Twentieth Brigade assaulted the offices of Justicia y Paz (Justice and Peace) where they were reported to have ransacked the offices and forced nuns and human rights workers to their knees and placed guns to their heads.
On May 19, 1998, the BINCI was disbanded pending a reorganization, in part due to their participation in human rights abuses.
See also
- History of ColombiaHistory of ColombiaThis article deals with the history of Colombia, a country in South America.-Pre-Colombian period:Approximately 10,000 years BC hunter-gatherer societies existed near present-day Bogotá , and they traded with one another and with cultures living in the Magdalena River valley...
- Kidnappings in ColombiaKidnappings in ColombiaKidnappings in Colombia refers to the practice of kidnapping in the Republic of Colombia. This criminal practice was first introduced in modern Colombian history during the early 1970s by the guerrilla movements and, later, also by criminal groups...
- Military of ColombiaMilitary of ColombiaThe Military Forces of Colombia are the armed forces of the Republic of Colombia.-Services:The Military of Colombia consists of:* National Army of Colombia * Colombian National Armada - Marines, Navy and Coast Guard attached* Colombian Air Force...
- Paramilitarism in ColombiaParamilitarism in ColombiaParamilitarism in Colombia refers to the origins and activities of far right-wing paramilitary groups in Colombia during the 20th century.Right-wing paramilitary groups are the parties considered to be most responsible for human rights violations in Colombia during the later half of the current...
- Politics of ColombiaPolitics of ColombiaThe Politics of Colombia take place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Colombia is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government...