Colombia Will Withdraw Plan to Expand Military Jurisdiction

Colombia’s government said it will withdraw its proposal to expand military jurisdiction over cases of abuses by Colombian security forces after human-rights groups opposed the measure.

Colombian Defense Minister Juan Carlos Pinzon said he’ll instead ask Congress to make clear in the constitution that human-rights abuses including torture, extrajudicial killings, disappearances and rapes shouldn’t go before military courts, according to a statement on the ministry’s website late yesterday.