Ivan Márquez charged with the murder of four soldiers and the kidnapping of a non-commissioned officer

The investigation carried out by the Attorney General's Office showed that on July 2, 1997, special troops of the National Army went out to search for two comrades who were missing in the rural area of Currulao, in Turbo, Antioquia. In the midst of tracing, they held an armed confrontation with members of the northwestern bloc of the extinct FARC.

During the battle, three soldiers were injured, Captain Carlos Enrique Vidal Aponte, and soldiers William Amado Suárez and Iván Ramírez Muñoz. Combat nurse Fabio Pinedo Serna and Sergeant Pedro José Guarnizo Ovalle arrived at the scene to assist them; however, the five officials were detained and taken to a camp of the extinct guerrilla group. The three injured uniformed men and the nurse soldier were killed with sharps and rifle shots, fired at close range.

The sergeant, Pedro Guarnizo, who had been kidnapped for almost six years, was finally rescued during the operation in which the National Army sought to free the then governor of Antioquia, Guillermo Gaviria Correa; the department's peace adviser, Gilberto Echeverri Mejía; and other members of the security forces who were also in captivity.

The evidence held by the Prosecutor's Office indicates that these events were ordered by the then FARC Secretariat, of which alias Iván Márquez was a member, who would also be the coordinator of the fronts that had interference in Antioquia and Caldas. For the judiciary, “the action of the armed group constituted a war crime, on the understanding that it ignored the principles of humanity and dignity of the victims, who were in a condition of fragility and vulnerability, and had to be protected and helped”.

Iván Luciano Marín Márquez, must answer in trial, by hierarchical line, for the crimes of aggravated homicide, attempted homicide of a protected person and aggravated extortive kidnapping.

Last February, a prosecutor from the Specialized Directorate Against Human Rights Violations had linked him to an investigation indicating that the guerrilla leader ordered the recruitment of 271 minors into the ranks of the FARC. Márquez, as a member of the FARC Secretariat, would have sent all blocks and fronts to recruit children, turning this illegal practice into a systematic action to join the ranks of the extinct armed group.

Through recruitment, alias “Ivan Márquez” would have recruited 197 boys and 74 girls whose ages ranged from 8 to 17 years. “The highest peak in the recruitment of boys is at age 14, while in girls it is 13 years old. Finally, the period in which this illegal activity was most reported was between 2002 and 2005,” said Attorney General Francisco Barbosa.

The departments in which minors were most recruited were Vichada 37, Antioquia and Caquetá both with 27, Cauca 15, Putumayo 12, Huila 11, Arauca 10, Tolima 9, Santander and Bolívar 8. In 77 cases, it was not possible to obtain information on a specific area in which the illegal action might have occurred. “In this sense, Márquez is bound by the homogeneous concurrence of the crime of illicit recruitment, and in the coming days his legal status will be defined,” added Prosecutor Barbosa.

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