Former Military Commanders Acquitted for Disappearances During Internal War in Peru
Peru's Sala Penal Nacional today acquitted former senior commanders of the Peruvian Army who had been accused of the enforced disappearance of three people in 1990, in the context of the internal war between terrorism and the forces of the State. The acquitted military officers are generals Mario Brito and Oswaldo Hanke, as well as colonels Jesús del Carpio and Mario Salazar, and the commander of the Counter-Subversive Battalion 313 "Los Laureles," general Miguel Rojas. Between 1980 and 2000, the confrontation between Sendero Luminoso and the forces of the State left nearly 70,000 dead in Peru, half of whom were caused by the Army and the Police, according to the Comisión por la Verdad y la Reconciliación.