The Judicial Branch of Huila paid tribute to the 40th anniversary of the Bogotá Palace of Justice holocaust in 1985. The event in Neiva featured speeches, a homily, and the unveiling of a mural under the theme 'Justice, memory and reflection'. Magistrates stressed the importance of memory to prevent the repetition of violence.
On November 6 and 7, 1985, the M-19 guerrilla group took over the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, funded by Pablo Escobar, leading to a 28-hour confrontation and numerous deaths, including magistrates and innocent civilians. Forty years later, the Judicial Branch of Huila joined the national commemoration with a symbolic event at the 'Rodrigo Lara Bonilla' Palace of Justice in Neiva.
Enasheilla Polanía Gómez, president of the Superior Court of Neiva, opened the event by stating: 'Today is a very important day for the judicial branch and for the country. We are commemorating a painful act for the nation, such as the takeover and retaking of the Palace of Justice. But we cannot forget to move forward firmly'. The event included a homily, a floral offering, and the unveiling of the mural 'Justice, memory and reflection', created by artist and lawyer Javier Oswaldo Díaz Carvallo, which contrasts gray tones of the past with vibrant colors of the present, symbolizing doves, children, and reconstruction.
Díaz Carvallo described the work as 'the human resistance to forgetting', divided to represent the passage of time between the old and new palace. Diana Isabel Bolívar Voloj, sectional director of Judicial Administration, stated: 'Justice does not extinguish because it lives in the courage of those who defended it at the cost of their own lives'. César Augusto Patarroyo Córdoba, president of the Sectional Judiciary Council, called for peaceful reflection: 'The Palace of Justice holocaust is one of the most tragic events in Colombia's recent history'.
In the national context, criticisms arose against statements by President Gustavo Petro, a former M-19 member, who denied his group's responsibility for magistrates' deaths, sparking backlash for revictimizing the victims. Carlos Medellín, son of a former magistrate, recalled prior threats and the lack of reparation. Nationally, similar events took place in Medellín with the 'Vacío Presente' sculpture and in Bogotá with a mass at the Primada Cathedral.