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Colombian courts charge some 150
soldiers with embezzlement
Colombian military courts began
on Monday to charge 147 soldiers
with the embezzlement of 14.7
million U.S. dollars which was
confiscated from guerillas in a
2003 military operation, army
officials said.
The accused soldiers captured
15.2 million dollars belonging
to the Revolutionary Armed
Forces of Colombia (FARC), the
nation's largest rebel group,
while on patrol in 2003,
according to prosecutors.
The soldiers handed in around
544,000 dollars to the
government and took the rest,
splashing out the money on cars,
clothes, and parties.
After three years of
investigation, the first stage
of the trial will include 48
soldiers, 28 of them present in
court with their lawyers, and
the remainder being tried in
their absence. The first stage
could last more than a month.
A total of three commissioned
officers, 15 non-commissioned
officers and 129 private
soldiers benefited from the
robbery. If found guilty of
embezzlement, they could face
jail terms of four to eight
years.
Colombian film-maker Rodrigo
Triana has already made a film
about the case "Sonar no cuesta
nada" (It costs nothing to
dream, which is expected to hit
screens across the country in
the coming weeks.
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