Massacre of two paramilitaries

This painting is in the bush in Sabaleta, Caqueta. Alongside the Caqueta River.

These are us, the guerrilla.

This is what happened; two paramilitaries entered the town, they were taken alive, taken to the camp, and we were ordered to shoot them.

But the persons I was with didn’t follow the orders.

One of them was tied up by the neck. They had him stand on two sticks buried in the ground and tied him to a tree. They hung him on the tree and then pulled upwards.

The other one who was tied was kneeling down, begging not to be killed. They did these things to them, so they would confess the truth. But they suffered a lot before they died.

This other one was hanged because he could not be shot, there was a house nearby so we could not make a racket.

This one was beaten to death. They took a thick branch, peeled it, and beat him to death with it.

I was standing here staring, all I did was look and shake, and at that moment I felt true fear, I felt sorrow. I thought to myself; they are one group and we are another, but it is not fair for them to suffer this way.

This here was at nine in the morning; they sent for us, and about three thirty in the afternoon, once they confessed, everything was over.

Those that did this to them, they went to court martial because they had not obeyed orders, they ended up being sanctioned.

They were the type of person that takes a gun in their hands and feel they have the world in their hands.