Colombian authorities are investigating the disappearance and dismemberment of at least 100 people whose butchered bodies were discovered in a sewer that runs beneath a notorious prison in Colombia's capital city of Bogotá.
State prosecutors leading the investigation say the bodies were found beneath La Modelo (the model), one of Colombia's largest and most overpopulated prisons, reported TIME. The investigation will focus on the prison where dismembered bodies were discovered, but they say the investigation may soon expand to other prisons in cities such as Popayan, Bucaramanga and Barranquilla.
The investigation into the "possible disappearance and dismemberment of an undetermined number of people" began several months ago, but the actual discovery of the bodies was made amid an ongoing investigation into paramilitary figures Mario Jaimes Mejía, a.k.a El Panadero; and Alejandro Cárdenas Orozco, a.k.a JJ.
Both face charges of torture, kindnapping and rape in the case of Jineth Bedoya, a Colombian journalist who was kidnapped and raped in May 2000 in the midst of an investigation into killings, disappearance, weapons trafficking and corruption at La Modelo prison, reported CNN. Both have denied the accusations on several occassions, but they have reportedly also contradicted themselves amid interrogations with prosecutors.
Authorities say at the time of Bedoya's kidnapping, Jaimes, a former chief of a paramilitary group in the city of Santader, would bribe prison guards so they would turn a blind eye to his activities. He was also in control of one of the wings where the killings occurred.
Officials are skeptical about whether they will be able to determine the identities of those who were found the sewers, not only due to the water damage the bodies endured in the drainage system, but also because of the wide range of alleged victims. Such victims include fellow inmates, visitors and people who had nothing to do with the prison, according to the Mirror.
Overcrowding is a major problem for Colombian prisons and due to the sheer amount of inmates relative to the amount of security guards, its not uncommon for violent situations or corrupt developments to unfold. The fact that the prisons often accommodate leftist guerrillas alongside their right-wing paramilitary enemies doesn't help the situation either.
