Coca Grower Killed in Bolivia

January 30, 2002 -- At approximately 5:15 p.m. yesterday, January 29, an Expeditionary Task Force patrol dispersed a group of coca growers attempting to block the Cochabamba-Santa Cruz highway in Shinahota. According to eyewitness testimony, members of the forces shot directly at a group of farmers on a market road perpendicular to the highway.

The forces shot Marcos Ortiz Llanos (34 years old) in the left side. The
bullet exited his right side, apparently passing through his heart and
remained lodged in his right arm. He died soon afterwards in the Villa
Tunari Hospital. The forensic specialist of the Justice and Human rights
Center is performing the autopsy at this time and will issue the
corresponding medical certificate.

Multiple eyewitness testimonies state that Cnl. Aurelio Burgos Blacutt
(School of the Americas Graduate, 1974) aimed and fired directly at Ortiz.
Burgos is easily identifiable because he is missing his left forearm.

Several other people were wounded in the incident. Members of the
Expeditionary Task Force continued to beat coca growers with nightsticks
and kick them after the shootings.

On December 6, 2001 a member of the Expeditionary Task Force, Juan Eladio
Bora, shot and killed Chimore Union Leader, Casimiro Huanca, during a
peaceful protest. Another member of the Force shot Fructuoso Herbas, who
had to have his leg amputated above the knee as a result.

This irregular mercenary force receives salaries from the Narcotic Affairs
Section of the U.S. Embassy and has been credibly implicated in a
significant portion of the human rights violations committed during the
last five months in the Chapare region. Off the record, security force
commanders told AIN that clearly the Expeditionary Task Force let things
"get out of hand" last year.

Human Rights monitors express their concern that the killing of Marcos
Ortiz Llanos will also be investigated and tried through military tribunal
rather than the civil justice systema pattern that has provided impunity
for Expeditionary Task Force members and other security forces in cases of
gross human rights violations.

Other Detentions

Yesterday security forces detained four Chapare farmers in Chimore on
formal charges related to the violence in Sacaba. Detainees included
Albino Paniagua, union leader and eyewitness in the Casimiro Huanca
killing. Paniagua denounced harassment and psychological pressure from
arresting officers accusing him of implicating them in the Huanca killing.

Another individual, Gregorio Flor was detained and severely beaten by
security forces yesterday near Shinahota. He was later released for lack of
evidence.

Police detained 10 individuals in Cochabamba during continuing protests
there; they were liberated last night. Protests and police repression have
become a daily event in Cochabamba. This morning confrontations continued
between police and protestors.

Permanent Human Rights Assembly and Human Rights Ombudsman Denounce Abuses
Against Detainees

In an effort to monitor the situation of over 60 coca grower detainees,
the Permanent Human Rights Assembly issued a statement yesterday denouncing
abuse and citing examples of physical aggression in four different
detention centers.

Ana Maria Romero de Campero, Human Rights Ombudsperson, seconded the
Permanent Human Rights Assembly's denunciations, adding that some prisoners
were still in need of medical attention as a result of the brutal beatings
and torture during their detentions. She is submitting a Habeas Corpus
petition to protect the physical safety of detainees and investigate the
incidents.

Detainees in the Abra men's prison also denounced physical abuse and
extortion by other prisoners. They have since been separated from the other
prisoners.

Both organizations also expressed their alarm and the need for
investigation into an incident in which a young female detainee passed out
during detention. When she regained consciousness in the Technical Judicial
Police cells, she had been stripped of her clothing below the waist and had
suffered a series of abrasions. She received medical attention for several
days in the Viedma Hospital. The detainee was unsure of whether a rape or
sexual assault had occurred. Test results were inconclustive. Rape is
difficult prove as a result of poor testing methods. In this case, medical
and laboratory exams were not carried out until four days after the young
woman's arrest.

Sporadic Road Blockades Yesterday Should Grow Stronger Today

In addition to the attempt to block the highway in Shinahota, Chapare
farmers sporadically blocked the highway throughout the region. There have
been heavy blockades in Colomi, an Andean town, approximately 1 hour away
from Cochabamba on the road to the Chapare. Military commanders in the
town have been forcibly removing anyone that appears to be a coca grower
from trucks and busses and sending them back to the Chapare.

At this time there are rocks and logs blocking the highway at strategic
points in the region. Traffic is still able to circulate through the
region, though. Blockades are expected to increase during the day.

On January 27, a mudslide washed away 28 meters of the Cochabamba-Santa
Cruz highway. Vehicles were unable to pass for two days. One Chapare union
leader remarked that Mother Nature is clearly on the coca growers' side.

• 116 Human Rights