Colombian air force pilots sentenced to 31 years for murder in cluster-bombing of civilians

Colombian pilots get stiff sentences for bombing

BOGOTA — A judge has found two Colombian air force pilots guilty of murder and sentenced them to 31 years in prison each for the 1998 cluster-bombing of a village that killed 17 people.

Judge Martin Suarez found that the pilots, both lieutenants, had acted impetuously, failing to distinguish between civilians and leftist rebels. Six children were among the dead.

The village attacked was Santo Domingo, in the northeastern state of Arauca.

In the verdict issued Thursday, Suarez noted that a U.S. serviceman in a supporting aircraft had remarked in English, “They’re shooting at civilians” and “Don’t shoot!”

Suarez ordered the two pilots, Cesar Romero and Johan Jimenez, to be jailed immediately. Both had enjoyed provisional liberty.