The Special Judiciary for Peace (JEP) will today begin a single hearing with retired General Jesús Armando Arias on the events that occurred during the 1985 restoration of the Palace of Justice.
According to a statement by the JEP, the hearing will be dialogical in nature and will include the victims of the events that occurred during the attack by the M-19 and the subsequent seizure of the Palace of Justice by public authorities.
Upon completion of the hearing, the JEP Legal Positions Definition Chamber will evaluate Arias Cabrales’ truthful submissions and determine whether they are sufficient to maintain his submission and advance the process of transitional benefits in that jurisdiction.
On Wednesday, November 6, 1985, the takeover of the Palace of Justice by the April 19 Movement (M-19) began when about 35 guerrillas entered the building as part of Operation Antonio Nariño for Human Rights. .
With this action, the guerrillas tried to accuse President Belisario Betancur of not fulfilling the peace promises and agreements signed in Hobo, Corinto and Medellín a year before he took power.
Men from the Presidential Guard Battalion responded to the takeover and then began what is known as military recapture by the armed forces.
At 5:30 p.m., fire began and a confrontation between the M-19 and the army lasted until 02:00 a.m. on November 7.
The survivors left in larger numbers on the afternoon of the first day and others on the 7th. Many managed to survive and others were taken to La Casa del Florero, used as an “extended command post” by state agents.
Once the salvage was complete, the military authorities took over the site, transferred all the bodies to the first floor, stripped their clothes and personal belongings, and washed them to eliminate evidence of the facts.
Some bodies were not even in the building, they were found in mass graves or in other people’s graves, or it is not yet known what happened to them, according to the Interchurch Justice and Peace Commission.
In 2011, General Arias was sentenced to 35 years in prison for the disappearance of several hostages who left the Palace of Justice alive and for the guerrilla Irma Franco.
In May 2020, he was released on parole after facing the Special Justice for Peace.