A COLOMBIAN nurse working in Madrid has been arrested after it transpired he forcibly terminated over 150 pregnancies of female fighters with the rebel army in his home country.
Héctor Albeidis Arboleda Buitrago, 40, has been wanted by Interpol for forced abortions of FARC militants – some of them mere teenagers and some of whom died as a result of the non-consented procedure – because their pregnancy and eventual motherhood would have had negative consequences for their ability to fight, in the guerrillas' view.
Known within the FARC as El Enfermero, or 'The Nurse', Arboleda Buitrago has been taken into custody by the Guardia Civil in the Spanish capital and inquiries have been launched to find out whether he is a legal resident in Madrid.
If he is not, he will be deported immediately to Colombia, but the accused is likely to have to leave the country anyway since his native land has called for his extradition for trial.
According to the national director for public safety and the prosecution in Colombia, Luis González León, Arboleda carried out the abortions over a 15-year period, mostly in remote rural areas in the west and centre of the country.
The women who reported their ordeal describe it as 'absolute torture', both physically and emotionally, which left them with psychological scarring in many cases and serious injuries in others, which have led to gynaecological problems and infertility among many of them – and several of the victims died as a direct result of the unregulated practice.
Investigations have been ongoing for several months into sexual violence and violation of sexual freedoms perpetrated by the FARC, and revealed that female members of the rebel army relied upon their male colleagues to supply them with contraception.
If any of the women refused to abort and insisted on carrying their child, they were likely to face a death sentence – unless they were the wives or girlfriends of senior commanders, since these were offered greater privileges than those further down the hierarchy.
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