Colombia/Venezuela: Investigate Border Killings and Attack

In one episode, armed men kidnapped a group of persons on October 11, 2009, while they were playing soccer in the Venezuelan town of Chururú, near the border with Colombia. The armed men reportedly held the group for two weeks and then killed most of them, including eight Colombians, a Peruvian and a Venezuelan. One man survived and another is reportedly missing.

"The brutal killing of these abductees unfortunately fits in with the pattern of abuses by armed groups in Colombia's conflict," said José Miguel Vivanco, Americas director at Human Rights Watch. "Venezuela and Colombia need to work together to hold the culprits accountable and prevent more horrific atrocities like this."

Colombian news reports cite the only known survivor, a Colombian, as saying that an armed group commanded by a man known as "Payaso" held the victims for nearly two weeks in a mountain camp, in chains with locks at their necks. He said that Payaso accused the victims of being paramilitary recruits. On October 23, the survivor said, the group took the abductees to another location, forced them onto their knees, and shot at them repeatedly, leaving them for dead.

Read More