Grupo Colina
Encyclopedia
Grupo Colina was a paramilitary anti-communist death squad
created in Peru
that was active from 1990 until 1994, during the administration of Alberto Fujimori
. The group is known for committing several human rights
abuses, including the Barrios Altos massacre
, the La Cantuta massacre
, and the Santa massacre
.
Abimael Guzman
launched a guerrilla war
with his group Shining Path
. This war
, as well as a war launched by the leftist
group known as the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
continued into the 1990s, when Alberto Fujimori was elected president. It was then that suspected guerrillas and civilians began dying at the hands of Grupo Colina.
investigated the La Cantuta massacre, Nicolás Hermoza Ríos, Commander General of the Armed Forces, put tank
s on the streets and declared that he would not tolerate the Congress insulting the armed forces. The Congress largely backed down.
Later, some members of Grupo Colina were put on trial. Fujimori signed a controversial law that granted amnesty to anyone accused of, tried for, convicted of, or sentenced for human rights violations that were committed by the armed forces or police. When a court found this law unconstitutional, Fujimori signed a new law removing the right of judicial review
over amnesty laws. This second law was known as the "Barrios Altos Law" because it ensured that those members of Grupo Colina who committed the Barrios Altos massacre
would be freed. Eventually, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
struck down both amnesty laws.
Since the collapse of the Fujimori government, several people have been tried for Grupo Colina's crimes, including Fujimori himself
, who was tried and convicted for the La Cantuta massacre and the Barrios Altos massacre. Other trials have established that Grupo Colina was not an informal group of renegade officers but an organic part of the Peruvian state. Julio Salazar
, former de jure chief of the National Intelligence Service
(SIN), was sentenced to thirty-five years of prison
for his role in the La Cantuta massacre. During Salazar's tenure at the SIN, Vladimiro Montesinos
was the de facto SIN chief and national security advisor. Montesinos is currently imprisoned in the Callao
Military Prison outside of Lima
and faces over seventy trials for various human rights abuses, as well as charges of arms trafficking, drug trafficking, and political corruption
. The operational chief of Grupo Colina, Santiago Martín Rivas
, is also imprisoned.
Death squad
A death squad is an armed military, police, insurgent, or terrorist squad that conducts extrajudicial killings, assassinations, and forced disappearances of persons as part of a war, insurgency or terror campaign...
created in Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
that was active from 1990 until 1994, during the administration of Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori
Alberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
. The group is known for committing several human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
abuses, including the Barrios Altos massacre
Barrios Altos massacre
The Barrios Altos massacre took place on 3 November 1991, in the Barrios Altos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. Fifteen people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed, and four more injured, by assailants who were later determined to be members of Grupo Colina, a death squad made up of members...
, the La Cantuta massacre
La Cantuta massacre
The La Cantuta massacre, in which a university professor and nine students from Lima's La Cantuta University were abducted by a military death squad and "disappeared", took place in Peru on 18 July 1992 during the presidency of Alberto Fujimori...
, and the Santa massacre
Santa massacre
The Santa Massacre was a massacre of nine campesinos carried out by Grupo Colina in the Santa Province of the Ancash Region of Peru. The massacre occurred on May 2, 1992....
.
Background
In 1980, Peruvian MaoistMaoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
Abimael Guzman
Abimael Guzmán
Manuel Rubén Abimael Guzmán Reynoso , also known by the nom de guerre Presidente Gonzalo , a former professor of philosophy, was the leader of the Shining Path during the Maoist insurgency known as the internal conflict in Peru...
launched a guerrilla war
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
with his group Shining Path
Shining Path
Shining Path is a Maoist guerrilla terrorist organization in Peru. The group never refers to itself as "Shining Path", and as several other Peruvian groups, prefers to be called the "Communist Party of Peru" or "PCP-SL" in short...
. This war
Internal conflict in Peru
It has been estimated that nearly 70,000 people died in the internal conflict in Peru that started in 1980 and, although still ongoing, had greatly wound down by 2000. The principal actors in the war were the Shining Path , the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement and the government of Peru.A great...
, as well as a war launched by the leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
group known as the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement
The Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement was a Marxist revolutionary group active in Peru from the early 1980s to 1997 and one of the main actors in the internal conflict in Peru...
continued into the 1990s, when Alberto Fujimori was elected president. It was then that suspected guerrillas and civilians began dying at the hands of Grupo Colina.
Investigations
When the Democratic Constitutional CongressDemocratic Constitutional Congress
The Democratic Constituent Congress was a Constituent Assembly created in Peru after the dissolution of Congress by President Alberto Fujimori in 1992...
investigated the La Cantuta massacre, Nicolás Hermoza Ríos, Commander General of the Armed Forces, put tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s on the streets and declared that he would not tolerate the Congress insulting the armed forces. The Congress largely backed down.
Later, some members of Grupo Colina were put on trial. Fujimori signed a controversial law that granted amnesty to anyone accused of, tried for, convicted of, or sentenced for human rights violations that were committed by the armed forces or police. When a court found this law unconstitutional, Fujimori signed a new law removing the right of judicial review
Judicial review
Judicial review is the doctrine under which legislative and executive actions are subject to review by the judiciary. Specific courts with judicial review power must annul the acts of the state when it finds them incompatible with a higher authority...
over amnesty laws. This second law was known as the "Barrios Altos Law" because it ensured that those members of Grupo Colina who committed the Barrios Altos massacre
Barrios Altos massacre
The Barrios Altos massacre took place on 3 November 1991, in the Barrios Altos neighborhood of Lima, Peru. Fifteen people, including an eight-year-old child, were killed, and four more injured, by assailants who were later determined to be members of Grupo Colina, a death squad made up of members...
would be freed. Eventually, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights
Inter-American Court of Human Rights
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights is an autonomous judicial institution based in the city of San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it makes up the human rights protection system of the Organization of American States , which serves to uphold and...
struck down both amnesty laws.
Since the collapse of the Fujimori government, several people have been tried for Grupo Colina's crimes, including Fujimori himself
Alberto Fujimori's arrest and trial
Former Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori was arrested and tried for a number of crimes related to corruption and human rights abuses that occurred during his government.-Background:...
, who was tried and convicted for the La Cantuta massacre and the Barrios Altos massacre. Other trials have established that Grupo Colina was not an informal group of renegade officers but an organic part of the Peruvian state. Julio Salazar
Julio Salazar
General Julio Ronald Salazar Monroe was the de jure chief of Peru's National Intelligence Service during the early 1990s. During Salazar's tenure at the SIN, Vladimiro Montesinos acted as the de facto chief of the SIN and the National Security Advisor.On April 8, 2008, Salazar was sentenced to 35...
, former de jure chief of the National Intelligence Service
National Intelligence Service (Peru)
The National Intelligence Service was an intelligence agency of the Government of Peru. The agency was disbanded by Alberto Fujimori after its de facto chief, Vladimiro Montesinos, was caught paying bribes to major political, military and media figures. Fujimori later pleaded guilty to charges...
(SIN), was sentenced to thirty-five years of prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
for his role in the La Cantuta massacre. During Salazar's tenure at the SIN, Vladimiro Montesinos
Vladimiro Montesinos
Vladimiro Ilyich Montesinos Torres was the long-standing head of Peru's intelligence service, Servicio de Inteligencia Nacional , under President Alberto Fujimori. In 2000, secret videos, which he had recorded, were televised that showed his bribing an elected congressman to leave the opposition...
was the de facto SIN chief and national security advisor. Montesinos is currently imprisoned in the Callao
Callao
Callao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that holds almost...
Military Prison outside of Lima
Lima
Lima is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín rivers, in the central part of the country, on a desert coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Together with the seaport of Callao, it forms a contiguous urban area known as the Lima...
and faces over seventy trials for various human rights abuses, as well as charges of arms trafficking, drug trafficking, and political corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
. The operational chief of Grupo Colina, Santiago Martín Rivas
Santiago Martín Rivas
Santiago Martín Rivas was a major in the Peruvian Army, a member of the Army Intelligence Service, and the leader of a death squad known as Grupo Colina, responsible for a number of massacres during the government of Alberto Fujimori. He is currently imprisoned.-References:...
, is also imprisoned.
External links
- Amnesty International report on Peru.
- APRODEHAPRODEHAsociación Pro Derechos Humanos is a Peruvian human rights organization. It was established in 1983 by a group of professionals who had been providing information to Peruvian congressmen involved with the Congressional Human Rights Commission, such as Javier Diez Canseco...
. The La Cantuta Case. - APRODEH. The Barrios Altos Case.
- APRODEH. Basements of the SIE.
- APRODEH. The Santa Case.
- APRODEH. The Yauri Case.
- APDODEH. The Ventocilla Case.
- Truth and Reconciliation CommissionTruth and Reconciliation Commission (Peru)The Peruvian Truth and Reconciliation Commission was established in 2001 after the fall of president Alberto Fujimori, to examine abuses committed during the 1980s and 1990s, when Peru was plagued by the worst political violence in the history of the republic...
.El Destacamento Colina.