Washington Post

Colombia's Army Chief Steps Down

Nov 5 -- The top commander of Colombia's U.S.-backed army resigned Tuesday after an investigation implicated three generals and other officers under his command in the killings of civilians who were later presented as enemy combatants killed in battle.

5 de noviembre de 2008

Gen. Mario Montoya was a favorite of American officials, who saw him as an able caretaker of the U.S. war against Marxist rebels and cocaine cartels. But Montoya had long been dogged by allegations that he was linked to right-wing death squads. A paramilitary fighter testified in court in August that Montoya had funneled arms to paramilitary groups, and human rights groups said he encouraged policies that led some army units to kill peasants and count them as rebels killed in combat to win favor with commanders.

Read the full text here.