On April 7, PBI-Colombia tweeted: “The information of those responsible for serious crimes and violations of human rights is essential to consolidate peace completely. @Justiciaypazcol [Justice and Peace Commission] @SomosGenesisCol [We are Genesis] ‘If the truth is not known there will be neither justice nor reparation’”
Yesterday, Reuters reported: “Colombia’s Supreme Court of Justice on Wednesday approved the extradition to the United States of accused drug kingpin and Clan del Golfo crime gang leader Dairo Antonio Usaga, known as Otoniel. [Otoniel’s lawyers] argued he should be included in a special tribunal [the Special Jurisdiction for Peace/JEP] convened under the auspices of a 2016 peace deal. Otoniel was willing to divulge details of collaboration between some military officials and illegal armed groups, his lawyers said.”
Today, SomosGenesis posted:
“We came to Bogotá with the purpose of being heard, particularly by the Supreme Court of Justice, and the Transitional System.
We came to hear our opinion on the suspension of the extradition of Dairo Antonio Üsuga, alias Otoniel, former commander of the Gulf Clan of the AGC.
We came because our writings seem to be insufficient.
Our women victims of sexual violence don’t matter. Our disappeared and murdered don’t matter. Our recruited children and youth don’t matter. The exclusion and this continuity of war and violence every day in our territories does not matter.
Our displacements or confinements do not matter. The destruction of our forests, waters, animals, does not matter. That doesn’t matter.
Crimes against humanity don’t matter.
We ask to suspend extradition.
We never said not to be tried for crimes in the United States.
Peace are truths that the country must know, it must know the names of some businessmen, sectors of the military and police sectors, sectors of politicians who in our territories use the Gulf Clan, those are the faces and names that the country must know.
The JEP should not urge the Supreme Court of Justice, it should condition, and request the suspension of Otoniel’s extradition until justice is done here, not revenge either with Otoniel, nor with the military, nor police, nor businessmen nor politicians nor perhaps the justice apparatus that are implicated. It is that with the truth we can move as a country to peace.”
8am Press Conference via @Contagioradio1: @Justiciaypazcol and communities. One of the core points of the Peace Agreement is #EsclarecimientoDeLaVerdad [Truth Clarification] and the centrality in victims of serious human rights violations, they all legitimately claim that #NoExtraditenLaVerdad [Don’t extradite the truth].”
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