About a quarter of a century ago, on November 5, 1985; M-19 terrorists trained in Cuba, assaulted the Palace of Justice, murdered in cold blood to the watchman, took the critical points of the building, seized the judges Supreme Court of Justice, raided the offices where lay the files of major Medellín Cartel kingpins; destroy the documents in order to run an errand very well paid by Pablo Escobar, and incidentally had the audacity to call the weak President Belisario Betancur, to sit him in front of television cameras for submission to a "trial" for "manzanillo", "ill-politician" and lacking in character.
        But for the timely reaction of the troops of the Thirteenth Brigade and units of the Bogota Police Department, who came to save the republic from a catastrophe without perecedentes, the terrorists had gotten away with him, because they knew beforehand the weakness of nature and the laxity characteristic of a self-centered and vain president, incapable of applying the laws to terrorists, because he strove to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, regardless of the fate of Colombia.
        If Belisario had attend the appointment of the M-19 terrorists, immediately  the bandits would have declared de facto government, and obviously, it would have triggered a bloody civil war.
        Due to the strong position of military command against the wavering attitude and lack of strength of Belisario Betancur, terrorists developed the whole plan they had prepared over several months. In this order of ideas, they placed snipers and armed resistance in different parts of the Palace of Justice; extracted from cafes thousands of ammunition of various calibers, explosives, and hand grenades, which with open complicity of some employees, they had introduced gradually and stored, as logistical support for sustain a prolonged fight.
        But as the attackers failed to submit the task of ruling the loose, unleashed an orgy of blood, terror and fire. Instead of surrendering to avoid a catastrophe, while saving the lives of the hostages, bandits began to burn files and shooting their weapons.
        The combat lasted for two days. National Army troops under the command of talented Gen. Jesus Armando Arias, led a courageous and risky tactical move, to subdue Communist schizophrenics M-19, who aligned to the Cuban dictatorship, saw the fall of Colombia around the corner, through terrorsim, their favorite weapon.
        Astonished, the whole world listened Yamid Amat´s description in Caracol Radio, about how cowardly Andrew Almarales hitman, head of the terrorists, murdered Echandía Reyes. Then the debacle came. The Palace went up in flames everywhere. A terrorist who operated a niche machine guns fired on the fourth floor incessant gusts against the troops, but eventually the attackers were outmanned.
        The whole country took to the streets to honor the heroes who had just saved the republic, despite the indignity of who holds the post of Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and instead to act accordingly with their office, had given much space to the FARC, the ELN, the M-19 and other terrorist groups at that time roamed the country, while they "played" with the hope of peace of Colombians.
        Like the famous Operation Anori in which the Army won a resounding military victory, because of "Manzanillo" as Alfonso Lopez and in this case Belisario Betancur, the evolcuión of the events following the holocaust of the courthouse, turned into a political defeat for the state and an injustice to the Colombians.
        But the M-19 terrorists and communists eager to enslave Colombia went away with it. The anti-social gang then ran the M-19 ended in amnesty and full political honors, invested as governors, senators, mayors, senior government officials, members of Consular Corps, analysts of the conflict and who believe it, moralistic in issues around dirty war.
        For his part, President Betancur demagoguery faithful to the wiles of his race, for instance the "audacity" of Ernesto Samper that everything was behind him, avoided the issue to the subject, forgot that he was the primary responsible for the Holocaust due to his weakness against terrorism at all times of his government.
        And the judges should judge Belisario Betancur and the M-19 by the tragedy turned the cake. As with the bombing of the lair of Raul Reyes, the fact that the Communists and other propagandists of terror,say that the serious trouble is not that Correa support the FARC but Uribe ordered the bombing of "comrade" Reyes; in the tragedy of the Palace of Justice, the military ended up being the responsible, despite rescued Colombia on one of his most dire hours.
         Ong's prone to communist terrorism, false witnesses purchased with money coming from the mafia including FARC terrorists, demobilized M-19 eager to see Colombia converted into another embarrassing Cuba, white collar criminals had infiltrated the courts, some judges venal and some functional stupid dream of "Cubanization of Colombia" without understanding the gravity of their stupidity, they looked for scapegoats and muddied several senior military officers, with the calculated purpose of demoralizing the armed forces, undermining their ability to fight and disprove historical truth.
         While the criminals who sponsor communist terrorism at that time and today are "moralists" with presidential aspirations or officials protected by the same State who hated and wanted to destroy, those military who put their lives in defense of freedom, democracy, and respect of the institutions, are now cataloged human rights violators. Like the tango Cambalache: The world upside down. The crime is now the paradigm of legality. Who would believe it!
          For that reason, on the 24th anniversary of the criminal attack against Colombia M-19, when the FUN that bring together the Active Reserve of the Armed Forces have chosen to seek justice and equality, it is pertinent to ask the judges and the Attorney General, how long? will allow the twisted intentionality who diverted the course of the investigation, thereby stigmatizing those who managed to recover the path of justice and the rule of law, ie, that the real perpetrators of this grisly fact, will be sent to courts for their actions. In short, when they will prosecute M-19 terrorists, and Belisario Betancur, by the tragic events of the Palace of Justice on 5 and 6 November, 1985.
        Colombia does not need "truth commissions", amnesties or demagoguery to save the skin of the terrorists, or treatments for President Betancour help. Colombia needs justice impartially and concrete. And that justice is achieved suing in court to those, who by action or omission allowed the M-19 massacre of judges, some hostages, and some employees of the courthouse, including accomplices who helped the terrorists to prepare the logistics of the bloody attack.
The military did nothing different to recover the dignity of Colombia.

         The rest has been a politician handling and management of the case, which staff have benefited others "Manzanillos", and César Gaviria Trujillo, the communists, terrorists Antonio Navarro, Gustavo Petro, and some white collar criminals.

Colonel Luis Alberto Pulido Villamarín
Strategic affairs analyst
www.luisvillamarin.com