COCA GROWER KILLED IN THE CHAPARE BLOCKADES GROW STRONGER January 30, 2002 Prepared by the Andean Information Network EXPEDITIONARY TASK FORCE SHOOTS AND KILLS COCA GROWER At approximately 5:15 p.m. yesterday, January 29, an Expeditionary Task Force patrol dispersed a group of coca growers attempting to block the Cochabamba-Santa Cruz highway in Shinahota. According to eyewitness testimony, members of the forces shot directly at a group of farmers on a market road perpendicular to the highway. The forces shot Marcos Ortiz Llanos (34 years old) in the left side. The bullet exited his right side, apparently passing through his heart and remained lodged in his right arm. He died soon afterwards in the Villa Tunari Hospital. The forensic specialist of the Justice and Human rights Center is performing the autopsy at this time and will issue the corresponding medical certificate. Multiple eyewitness testimonies state that Cnl. Aurelio Burgos Blacutt (School of the Americas Graduate, 1974) aimed and fired directly at Ortiz. Burgos is easily identifiable because he is missing his left forearm. Several other people were wounded in the incident. Members of the Expeditionary Task Force continued to beat coca growers with nightsticks and kick them after the shootings. On December 6, 2001 a member of the Expeditionary Task Force, Juan Eladio Bora, shot and killed Chimore Union Leader, Casimiro Huanca, during a peaceful protest. Another member of the Force shot Fructuoso Herbas, who had to have his leg amputated above the knee as a result. This irregular mercenary force receives salaries from the Narcotic Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy and has been credibly implicated in a significant portion of the human rights violations committed during the last five months in the Chapare region. Off the record, security force commanders told AIN that clearly the Expeditionary Task Force let things "get out of hand" last year. Human Rights monitors express their concern that the killing of Marcos Ortiz Llanos will also be investigated and tried through military tribunal rather than the civil justice systema pattern that has provided impunity for Expeditionary Task Force members and other security forces in cases of gross human rights violations. OTHER DETENTIONS Yesterday security forces detained four Chapare farmers in Chimore on formal charges related to the violence in Sacaba. Detainees included Albino Paniagua, union leader and eyewitness in the Casimiro Huanca killing. Paniagua denounced harassment and psychological pressure from arresting officers accusing him of implicating them in the Huanca killing. Another individual, Gregorio Flor was detained and severely beaten by security forces yesterday near Shinahota. He was later released for lack of evidence. Police detained 10 individuals in Cochabamba during continuing protests there; they were liberated last night. Protests and police repression have become a daily event in Cochabamba. This morning confrontations continued between police and protestors. PERMANENT HUMAN RIGHTS ASSEMBLY AND HUMAN RIGHTS OMBUDSMAN DENOUNCE ABUSES AGAINST DETAINEES In an effort to monitor the situation of over 60 coca grower detainees, the Permanent Human Rights Assembly issued a statement yesterday denouncing abuse and citing examples of physical aggression in four different detention centers. Ana Maria Romero de Campero, Human Rights Ombudsperson, seconded the Permanent Human Rights Assembly's denunciations, adding that some prisoners were still in need of medical attention as a result of the brutal beatings and torture during their detentions. She is submitting a Habeas Corpus petition to protect the physical safety of detainees and investigate the incidents. Detainees in the Abra men's prison also denounced physical abuse and extortion by other prisoners. They have since been separated from the other prisoners Both organizations also expressed their alarm and the need for investigation into an incident in which a young female detainee passed out during detention. When she regained consciousness in the Technical Judicial Police cells, she had been stripped of her clothing below the waist and had suffered a series of abrasions. She received medical attention for several days in the Viedma Hospital. The detainee was unsure of whether a rape or sexual assault had occurred. Test results were inconclustive. Rape is difficult prove as a result of poor testing methods. In this case, medical and laboratory exams were not carried out until four days after the young woman's arrest. SPORADIC ROAD BLOCKADES YESTERDAY SHOULD GROW STRONGER TODAY In addition to the attempt to block the highway in Shinahota, Chapare farmers sporadically blocked the highway throughout the region. There have been heavy blockades in Colomi, an Andean town, approximately 1 hour away from Cochabamba on the road to the Chapare. Military commanders in the town have been forcibly removing anyone that appears to be a coca grower from trucks and busses and sending them back to the Chapare. At this time there are rocks and logs blocking the highway at strategic points in the region. Traffic is still able to circulate through the region, though. Blockades are expected to increase during the day. On January 27, a mudslide washed away 28 meters of the Cochabamba-Santa Cruz highway. Vehicles were unable to pass for two days. One Chapare union leader remarked that Mother Nature is clearly on the coca growers' side ================================================== For access to past updates and background information please consultthe updates! heading of the English section of our website: www.scbbs-bo.com/ain
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