“The time that passes and the truth that disappears, unfortunately”: Maza Márquez before the JEP

On March 31, the JEP heard General Miguel Maza Márquez about the case of disappearance and genocide of the Patriotic Union party. In the stage, Maza insisted that he did not know anything about DAS follow-ups of the leftist movement. He also said that he did not remember some documents submitted by the magistrate of the transitional peace court, Gustavo Salazar, which ordered the follow-up of various political leaders.

Maza said that these events occurred almost 40 years ago, so he can't remember every detail and used a phrase that didn't go well among the victims.

After the intervention of the former director of DAS, the attorney delegate to the JEP, Alonso Pio Fernández, assured that Maza Márquez did not answer what was asked and gave incomplete answers.

“You want to reiterate the respectful invitation, you said 'time passes and the truth goes away', but the idea is that the truth does not go away,” said the prosecutor who argued that the testimonies of the former director of DAS are vital to knowing the truth of the armed conflict.

For her part, Martha Murillo, representative of the victims, indicated that Maza Márquez has not made enough progress in the real testimony.

Regarding the crimes, Maza Márquez insisted that the safety of presidential candidates Bernardo Jaramillo and Carlos Pizarro - killed by paramilitaries - was not his responsibility but that of other DAS members

Salazar reminded Mr. Maza that he is appearing not only because of his possible responsibility but for that of his subordinates as DAS director.

Before closing the proceedings, Judge Salazar presented several intelligence documents, from 1986 and 1987, which list UP leaders, with specific data on their headquarters and activities in the political movement, who were later killed or threatened.

Finally, Maza assured that the DAS was “a starving organism”, without the ability to carry out such follow-up actions. He pointed out that institutions with greater capacity such as the Police and the Army were operating in those places. He said he didn't give the order for those follow-ups.

The lawyer of the former director of DAS, Victoria Grillo, explained that Maza made the commitment to the JEP and is bringing truth, but that, due to his age and health conditions, he has difficulty spinning the speech and answering some questions about facts that he cannot remember, however, he stressed that his commitment is to the truth .

After the interventions of the Attorney Delegate to the JEP and the victims' representatives, who urged Maza Márquez to make an effort to ensure that this process helps to clarify the facts and to know the truth, the present proceedings were closed.

In adjourning the hearing, Judge Gustavo Salazar set April 22 for the continuation of Miguel Maza Márquez's version of Case 06, which investigates the victimization of members of the Patriotic Union.

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