At 49 years of age, Arturo Ulloa stands about three-and-a-half feet tall. Crutches enable him to drag a twisted body along the corridors of Barrancabermeja's prison, his residence these last three years. Ulloa would prefer to be home. He thought he was on his way seven months ago when a judge acquitted him, citing lack of evidence. A faceless prosecutor disagreed, however, and opposed the acquittal on appeal. The 88-pound Ulloa, who suffers from cataracts as well the osteo- porosis that has torqued his limbs, is one of Colombia's least likely "most wanted." Security forces arrested him at his home in October, 1993. Secret informers "Milena" and "Quixote" had accused Ulloa of being the contact point between rural and urban guerrillas of the Popular Liberation Army (EPL), and the accomplice of two EPL guerrillas in charge of a hit squad that targets soldiers and military informants. Ulloa, they claimed, took part in a plot to kidnap and murder an informant. Defense witnesses claim that "Milena" was the jilted partner in a love triangle involving Ulloa's son and his wife. The prosecution's manipulation of "Milena's" tes- timony illustrates one of the insidious advantages of a prosecutor in the faceless courts-and proves that the widespread secrecy derives not from the need for protection, but rather from the search for unfair advantages. "Milena's" anonymous allega- tions were sufficient to get Ulloa arrested and held for some two years prior to trial; during that time, his pro bono lawyer had no opportunity to investi- gate the credibility of the source. But since testi- mony from an anonymous source is insufficient for a guilty verdict, the prosecution pulled a fast one, increasingly common in these cases. As the case drew close to the judgment phase, the prosecutor revealed "Milena's" identity-which upgraded her In response to perceived escaltions in Colombia's armed conflict, the government resorts to declaring a "state of internal commotion," which provides special presidential powers to issue emergency decrees giving broad powers to the military. Since 1992, Presidents Gaviria and Samper have issued more than 50 such emergency decrees. When peace talks with the guerril- las collapsed in 1992, for example, Gaviria declared a state of internal commotion. Samper did the same in the aftermath of escalating violence in the northern region of Urubi and some well-publicized guerrilla attacks on oil facilities. States of internal commotion legitimize the soldier as policeman. The military has been quick to jump in-and slow to depart after a state of internal commotion expires. Taking advantage of the possibility granted by the faceless courts of using secret, paid wit- testimony, giving it the power to convict. For defendants, this is the worst of both worlds. An anonymous allegation puts them in jail for months or years, pending trial. Then, when it's too late to submit more evi- dence, the anonymous accuser goes public and the charges stand on their own. That the prosecutor revealed the identity of Arruro uIoad his witness suggests that the need for anonymity is suspect. The judge's decision was unequivocal. Noting repeatedly that the prosecution had presented no proof of Ulloa's connection to the guerrillas, the judge argued that the state, which still demanded conviction, sought to put the defendant in the unenviable position of needing to prove a negative in order to survive trial. This, the judge said, is no way to convict someone. Even Ulloa's jailers agreed, and made no trouble when his lawyer wanted to show the judge a photo of his client, the first opportunity the magistrate would have to see Ulloa and register firsthand the improbability of the charges against him. Today the case file sits in Bogota awaiting final decision by the top rung of the faceless-court sys- tem. Ulloa remains in prison. Once again, the pros- ecution has extended a case against an unlikely sus- pect in the absence of any proof. Even if he is released tomorrow, Ulloa will already have served more time than he would have had he been con- victed. Justice delayed, justice denied.
