Colombia’s national ombudsman, Iris Marín Ortiz, has publicly warned that government actions against illegal armed groups must stay within the bounds set by the constitution, the law, and basic human dignity—even in the heat of armed conflict.
Marín Ortiz said the state cannot compete with criminal groups to see who can act more brutally. Precisely because it represents the state, she argued, government power must always operate under limits that don’t disappear once fighting starts.
While she acknowledged that confronting armed groups militarily and protecting civilians are constitutional duties of the authorities, she stressed that these obligations don’t erase the restrictions that apply during combat. “Even in war there are limits,” she said, adding that human dignity doesn’t vanish when someone dies.
The ombudsman also criticized how officials publicize military operations, questioning whether the bodies of the dead should become part of the staging for official statements or a way of showcasing authority. She pointed to Colombia’s painful history of using corpses, humiliation, and fear to send messages of domination, calling on institutions to avoid repeating that kind of language.
According to Marín Ortiz, state legitimacy is strengthened not by mimicking the tactics of armed groups, but by upholding the very principles—chief among them, human dignity—that set legitimate authority apart from those who operate outside the law.
Read the full original story at El Tiempo.
Source: Defensora critica exposición de cuerpos de bajas en combate: ‘No recuerdo a un Presidente caminando entre muertos’ (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: USASOC News Service, BY 2.0 (via Openverse).