Mario Montoya Uribe
Encyclopedia
Mario Montoya Uribe was a Colombia
n military General and Commander of the Colombian National Army until his resignation on November 4, 2008 following a scandal involving the deaths of 11 civilians at the hands of the military. Montoya holds a graduate title in Top management
from the Los Andes University (Colombia)
. He has trained in armored vehicles courses in Fort Knox, Kentucky and served as the Army, Navy and Air Attaché
in the Colombian Embassy at the United Kingdom
in London
, England
. Montoya was succeeded by General Óscar González on November 6, 2008 as Commander of the Colombian National Army.
In September 2010 Montoya, now Colombia's ambassador to the Dominican Republic
, was charged with murder by an Ecuadorean court for his role in the 2008 incursion of the Colombian military into Ecuador which destroyed a FARC camp and left more than 20 dead.
Embassy in Bogotá
, Colombia
details a plan for the foundation of the Anticommunist American Alliance
(AAA) by General Jorge Robledo Pulido and the Colombian National Army's Battalion of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
(BINCI). The AAA and BINCI have been linked to a number of bombings, kidnapping
s and assassination
s against leftists
and guerrilla detainees between the years of 1978 and 1979.
Then-Lieutenant Montoya served in BINCI at the time and was mentioned in a November 29, 1980 article published by the Mexican
newspaper El Día, containing allegations about BINCI's and AAA's activities as told by five individuals identified as former Colombian military. Lieutenant Montoya is mentioned as a participant in the bombing of the Communist newspaper Voz Proletaria. A 1992 human rights
publication, El Terrorismo de Estado en Colombia (State Terrorism in Colombia), was based on the previous El Día article and repeated many of its claims.
In 1999 the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency
(DIA) found no evidence to support the charges against Montoya, citing the previously known information as "a NGO
smear campaign
dating back 20 years."
(CIA) was leaked to the Los Angeles Times
by an anonymous U.S. government employee who was said to be unsatisfied by the Bush administration's handling of the Colombian government's accountability. The report detailed a number of claims concerning links between Colombian security forces and illegal paramilitary groups. According to the CIA document, an allied Western intelligence agency reported the existence of such links during a 2002 Medellín
offensive carried out against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
(FARC) under the title of "Operation Orion". While the operation was considered a success, there were allegations that over 40 people had disappeared
during the operation and that the impending power vacuum was filled by paramilitary forces. The Western intelligence agency mentioned in the report considered that, the source of the claim was yet-unproven. A Defense attaché
to the United States Embassy in Bogotá told the Los Angeles Times that "this report confirms information provided by a proven source."
General Mario Montoya was commander of the area police force during the operation. The report cites an informant who claimed that plans for the attack were signed by General Montoya and paramilitary leader Fabio Jaramillo, who was a subordinate of Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano
, also known as Don Berna. Don Berna became known for taking over the drug trade
around Medellín after drug kingpin Pablo Escobar
was killed.
The CIA did not confirm nor deny the authenticity of the report. CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano stated that "by describing what it calls a leaked CIA report containing material from another intelligence service — and unconfirmed material at that — the Los Angeles Times makes it less likely that friendly countries will share information with the United States" and "that ultimately could affect our ability to protect Americans". Douglas Frantz, a managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, responded that "we listened carefully to the CIA concerns and agreed to withhold details that the agency said jeopardized certain sources and ongoing operations, but our judgment is that the significance of the issues raised in this story warrant its publication."
President of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe
(no relation to Montoya Uribe), has denied any links between his government and paramilitary forces.
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...
n military General and Commander of the Colombian National Army until his resignation on November 4, 2008 following a scandal involving the deaths of 11 civilians at the hands of the military. Montoya holds a graduate title in Top management
Senior management
Senior management, executive management, or management team is generally a team of individuals at the highest level of organizational management who have the day-to-day responsibilities of managing a company or corporation, they hold specific executive powers conferred onto them with and by...
from the Los Andes University (Colombia)
University of the Andes, Colombia
The University of the Andes , is a coeducational, nonsectarian private university located in city centre Bogotá, Colombia. Founded in 1948, the University has 9 faculties: Administration, Architecture and Design, Arts and Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences, Law, Economics, Engineering and...
. He has trained in armored vehicles courses in Fort Knox, Kentucky and served as the Army, Navy and Air Attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
in the Colombian Embassy at the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Montoya was succeeded by General Óscar González on November 6, 2008 as Commander of the Colombian National Army.
In September 2010 Montoya, now Colombia's ambassador to the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, was charged with murder by an Ecuadorean court for his role in the 2008 incursion of the Colombian military into Ecuador which destroyed a FARC camp and left more than 20 dead.
Commands
During Montoya's military career he has commanded the following units of the Colombian National Army:- Company Commander at the Military School of Cadets
- No. 5 Cavalry Group Commander (Cúcuta, N.S.CúcutaCúcuta is a Colombian city, capital of Norte de Santander, in the northeast of the country. Due to its proximity to the Colombian-Venezuelan border, Cúcuta is an important commercial center. The city has the constitutional category of Special District. It is located at the most active...
) - No. 4 Intelligence Battalion (Villavicencio, MetaVillavicencioVillavicencio is a city and municipality in Colombia, capital of the Department of Meta, with 361,058 inhabitants. The city is located at 4°08S, 73°40W, 75 km southeast of the Colombian capital city of Bogotá by the Guatiquía river...
) - Cavalry School Director
- Operative Command No. 9 Commander (Bagre, AntioquiaEl BagreEl Bagre is a municipality in the Colombian department of Antioquia....
) - 18th Brigade Commander, (AraucaArauca, AraucaArauca is a municipality and capital city of the Arauca Department of Colombia. Its full name is Villa de Santa Bárbara de Arauca, it is located at N 07° 05′ 25″ - W 70° 45′ 42″. The Municipality of Arauca has a total population of 82,149 ....
). - Commander of the Caribbean Joint Command
- Army Intelligence Director
- Joint Task Force of the South Commander
- Fourth Brigade Commander
- First Division Commander
Honors
The following honors have been bestowed upon Mario Montoya Uribe for his service:- Order of the Libertadores "Cruz de Boyacá"
- Distinguished Services in Public Order for first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth time.
- Order to the Military Group Gral. José María Córdova, in the Officer and Commander category
- Order to the Military Merit Gral. Antonio Nariño, in the Officer and Commander categories
- Distinguished services from the Marine Corps
- Order to the Military Merit Admiral Padilla
- Order to the Aeronautical Military Merit Order to the Military Merit from the Lancer’s School
- United States of America Army Medal
- Order from the Chamber of Representatives
- Distinguished services to the National Police for first and second time
- Distinguished services to the Military School
- San Jorge Medal
- Distinguished services to the National Police in the category of Commander for second time
- Medal from the Non Commissioned Officer’s School
- Medal from the Military School of cadets
- Order from the Congress
- Service Badges for 15, 20,25 and 30 years
Controversy
There have been several controversial accusations regarding different events during General Mario Montoya's military career.BINCI and AAA
A declassified 1979 report from the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Embassy 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...
details a plan for the foundation of the Anticommunist American Alliance
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) by General Jorge Robledo Pulido and the Colombian National Army's Battalion of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
BINCI
The Batallón Único de Inteligencia y Contrainteligencia 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....
(BINCI). The AAA and BINCI have been linked to a number of bombings, 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 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 leftists
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
and guerrilla detainees between the years of 1978 and 1979.
Then-Lieutenant Montoya served in BINCI at the time and was mentioned in a November 29, 1980 article published by the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
newspaper El Día, containing allegations about BINCI's and AAA's activities as told by five individuals identified as former Colombian military. Lieutenant Montoya is mentioned as a participant in the bombing of the Communist newspaper Voz Proletaria. A 1992 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...
publication, El Terrorismo de Estado en Colombia (State Terrorism in Colombia), was based on the previous El Día article and repeated many of its claims.
In 1999 the U.S. Defence Intelligence Agency
Defence Intelligence Agency
Defence Intelligence Agency, or variations on the name, may refer to agencies in several countries, including:*Defence Intelligence Group, Australia*Defence Intelligence Agency *Defence Intelligence Agency...
(DIA) found no evidence to support the charges against Montoya, citing the previously known information as "a NGO
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
smear campaign
Smear campaign
A smear campaign, smear tactic or simply smear is a metaphor for activity that can harm an individual or group's reputation by conflation with a stigmatized group...
dating back 20 years."
Operation Orion
In March 2007 a report by the United States Central Intelligence AgencyCentral Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) was leaked to the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
by an anonymous U.S. government employee who was said to be unsatisfied by the Bush administration's handling of the Colombian government's accountability. The report detailed a number of claims concerning links between Colombian security forces and illegal paramilitary groups. According to the CIA document, an allied Western intelligence agency reported the existence of such links during a 2002 Medellín
Medellín
Medellín , officially the Municipio de Medellín or Municipality of Medellín, is the second largest city in Colombia. It is in the Aburrá Valley, one of the more northerly of the Andes in South America. It has a population of 2.3 million...
offensive carried out against the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...
(FARC) under the title of "Operation Orion". While the operation was considered a success, there were allegations that over 40 people had disappeared
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...
during the operation and that the impending power vacuum was filled by paramilitary forces. The Western intelligence agency mentioned in the report considered that, the source of the claim was yet-unproven. A Defense attaché
Attaché
Attaché is a French term in diplomacy referring to a person who is assigned to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency...
to the United States Embassy in Bogotá told the Los Angeles Times that "this report confirms information provided by a proven source."
General Mario Montoya was commander of the area police force during the operation. The report cites an informant who claimed that plans for the attack were signed by General Montoya and paramilitary leader Fabio Jaramillo, who was a subordinate of Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano
Diego Murillo Bejarano
Diego Fernando Murillo Bejarano, also known as Don Berna or Adolfo Paz, is a former leader of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia paramilitary group operating in Colombia. He started working for the Medellín Cartel and was ultimately to lead its militia wing...
, also known as Don Berna. Don Berna became known for taking over the drug trade
Drug trade
Drug trade may refer to:* Illegal drug trade, the manufacture and sale of illicit psychoactive substances* Pharmaceutical industry, the manufacture and sale of medical treatment chemicals...
around Medellín after drug kingpin Pablo Escobar
Pablo Escobar
Pablo Emilio Escobar Gaviria was a Colombian drug lord. He was an elusive cocaine trafficker and rich and successful criminal. He owned numerous luxury residences, automobiles, and even airplanes...
was killed.
The CIA did not confirm nor deny the authenticity of the report. CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano stated that "by describing what it calls a leaked CIA report containing material from another intelligence service — and unconfirmed material at that — the Los Angeles Times makes it less likely that friendly countries will share information with the United States" and "that ultimately could affect our ability to protect Americans". Douglas Frantz, a managing editor of the Los Angeles Times, responded that "we listened carefully to the CIA concerns and agreed to withhold details that the agency said jeopardized certain sources and ongoing operations, but our judgment is that the significance of the issues raised in this story warrant its publication."
President of Colombia, Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
(no relation to Montoya Uribe), has denied any links between his government and paramilitary forces.
See also
- Colombian Armed ConflictColombian Armed ConflictThe Colombian armed conflict or Colombian Civil War are terms that are employed to refer to the current asymmetric low-intensity armed conflict in Colombia that has existed since approximately 1964 or 1966, between the Colombian government and peasant guerrillas such as the Revolutionary Armed...
- Communism in ColombiaCommunism in ColombiaThe history of communism in Colombia goes back as far as the 1920s and has its roots in the idealism of the Russian October Revolution. Today the guerrilla groups, self-proclaimed as communists, state that they want to seize state power in Colombia by violent means, and the organizations such as...
- Irregular militaryIrregular militaryIrregular military refers to any non-standard military. Being defined by exclusion, there is significant variance in what comes under the term. It can refer to the type of military organization, or to the type of tactics used....
- 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...
- Paramilitary forces
- Revolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaRevolutionary Armed Forces of ColombiaThe Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People's Army is a Marxist–Leninist revolutionary guerrilla organization based in Colombia which is involved in the ongoing Colombian armed conflict, currently involved in drug dealing and crimes against the civilians..FARC-EP is a peasant army which...