El Salado Massacre
| El Salado Massacre | |
|---|---|
| Location | El Salado, Colombia |
| Date | February 16, 2000-February 22, 2000 |
Attack type | Mass murder |
| Weapons | Chainsaws, light weapons, stones, sticks, iron mortars, ropes, hammers |
| Deaths | +100 |
| Injured | 1 (An unknown person) |
| Victims | The citizens of El Salado |
| Perpetrator | United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia : commanded by Luis Francisco Robles Mendoza, alias 'Amaury', Jhon Jairo Esquivel Cuadrado, 'the Tiger' and Uber Enrique Bánquez Martínez, 'Juancho Dique', under orders of Jorge 40, Salvatore Mancuso, Rodrigo Mercado Pelufo |
The El Salado Massacre was a massacre committed in the Colombian town of El Salado in Montes de María, Bolívar between February 16 and 22, 2000, although other sources say that the massacre lasted for two weeks. The mass murder was committed by the Bloque Norte and Bloque Héroes de los Montes de María of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), commanded by Rodrigo Tovar Pupo (alias 'Jorge 40'), and Rodrigo Mercado Pelufo (alias 'Cadena').[1][2]
Massacre
[edit]The criminal action in El Salado consisted of torture, beheadings, decapitations and rapes of an as yet undetermined number of defenseless peasants, among them a six-year-old girl and a 65-year-old woman; Initially, it was said that between 30 and 60 people were killed, but in June 2008 the Prosecutor's Office determined that there were more than 100, claiming that it could have been the largest massacre by the paramilitaries in their entire history.[3][4]
The massacre was perpetrated by at least 450 men belonging to the paramilitary group who also destroyed the homes and businesses of the population.[5] It is considered one of the bloodiest known actions of the AUC.
14 of the bodies were found in four mass graves in a lot in the Villa del Rosario (El Salado) district, jurisdiction of the municipality of El Carmen de Bolívar, after being tortured and beheaded in the town church, others were massacred on a table located on the town's soccer field.[6]
According to witnesses, the paramilitaries dismembered and tortured the residents with chainsaws, screwdrivers, stones and wood while they drank liquor looted from stores, raped women, hanged young people, beat old people and pregnant women while listening to loud music.[7][8] The massacre caused the displacement of at least 280 people, including men, women and children.[4]
Perpetrators
[edit]The massacre was commanded by Nicolás Castellanos Duque, Jhon Jairo Esquivel Cuadrado, alias 'el Tigre', and Uber Enrique Bánquez Martínez, alias 'Juancho Dique'. It was ordered by Jorge 40 (Rodrigo Tovar Pupo), who during the Justice and Peace process said that it was the order of Carlos Castaño, the top commander of the AUC, and supported by Salvatore Mancuso, head of the Catatumbo Block, and Rodrigo Mercado Pelufo, alias "Cadena", head of the Héroes de los Montes de María Block. The then Navy Lieutenant Commander Héctor Martín Pita Vásquez is also accused of the massacre, and was called to trial by the Prosecutor's Office in February 2008.[4]
In popular culture
[edit]The El Salado Massacre is mentioned in chapter 6 of season 4 of Mr. Robot, as the cause of the death of Olivia's mother, an accomplice to the business of the Deus Group (which in the universe of the series was involved in this massacre) in the National Bank of Cyprus.
The Colombian poet Eliana Hernández Pachón published a book entitled La mata; a poem based on the massacre.
The Colombian poet Omar Garzón published in his book Flores para un ocaso a poem entitled Camino para el olvido, dedicated to the victims of the El Salado massacre.[9]
The Colombian poet Hellman Pardo published in his book El sol abre su oscura a poem entitled El Salado (Noises on the road), dedicated to the victims of the El Salado massacre.
See also
[edit]- Colombian armed conflict
- List of acts of violence in the internal armed conflict in Colombia
- Area of Historical Memory
- Massacre of 7 CTI detectives of the Attorney General's Office
References
[edit]- ^ Hamlet located in the Montes de María , 17 kilometers from El Carmen de Bolívar , Colombia
- ^ The El Salado Massacre. Historical Memory Group. 2009. ISBN 978-958-704-904-6 .
- ^ Living to Tell the Tale . Semana (Colombia) . 9 of 15 of 2003. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008 . Retrieved December 26, 2024
- ^ a b c More than 100 people were killed by 'paras' in the Salado massacre, reveals the Attorney General's Office . El Tiempo (Colombia) . June 23, 2008 . Retrieved December 26, 2024
- ^ Prosecutors Identified the Victims of El Salado . El Tiempo (Colombia) . February 25, 1999 . Retrieved December 26, 2024
- ^ Prosecutors Link Castaño to El Salado Massacre . El Tiempo (Colombia) . March 17, 2000 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .
- ^ Statements by former 'paras' will help clarify the massacres in El Salado and Pueblo Bello . El Tiempo (Colombia) . August 5, 2006. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .
- ^ Someone Already Spoke About the El Salado Massacre . El Tiempo (Colombia) . December 16, 2007 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .
- ^ Cantemos Fusagasugá Magazine. « Your Festival : Path to Oblivion » . Retrieved December 26, 2024
General references
[edit]- Living to Tell the Tale, Chronicle of the Survivors of the Massacre . Semana (Colombia) . 9 of 15 of 2003. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .
- "El Salado: That war is not ours". Detailed report of the Salado massacre . National Center for Historical Memory . Archived from the original on 23 September 2015 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .
- Blood Party . Semana (Colombia) . August 30, 2008. Archived from the original on September 2, 2008 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .
- El Salado: Face of a massacre . National Commission for Reconciliation and Reparation CNRR (Colombia) December 26, 2024.
- El Salado: that war was not ours . National Center for Historical Memory (Colombia). Archived from the original on 23 September 2015 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .
- The voices of El Salado . El Espectador (newspaper) . July 5, 2011. Archived from the original on May 8, 2011 . Retrieved December 26, 2024 .