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From the archive: The false positives scandal: how thousands of innocent Colombians were killed so soldiers could get more holiday

From the archive: The false positives scandal: how thousands of innocent Colombians were killed so soldiers could get more holiday

The Guardian05-02-2025

We are raiding the Guardian Long Read archives to bring you some classic pieces from years past, with new introductions from the authors.
This week, from 2020: When the Colombian army defeated the Farc guerrillas, ending decades of conflict, General Mario Montoya was hailed a national hero. But then it was revealed that thousands of 'insurgents' executed by the army were in fact innocent men. By Mariana Palau. Read by Lucy Scott

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