Colombian army officers who concealed civilian casualties as guerrilla combat deaths in an effort to inflate body counts that led to promotions and bonuses today are escaping punishment for their roles in what the Associated Press called "one of Latin America's worst atrocities," the newswire reported.

Dozens of army officials suspected to have been involved in the incidents -- most of which occurred about a decade ago -- have since risen through the ranks, the AP noted based on a 95-page Human Rights Watch report titled "On their Watch."

The massacres have led to the punishment for 800 soldiers, but no charges have been filed against a single officer heading a brigade or military officials even higher up the chain of command at the time of the killings, the organization detailed.

Gen. Juan Pablo Rodríguez, the current head of the Colombian armed forces, and Gen. Jaime Lasprilla, the army's top commander, are among the senior officers singled out by Human Rights Watch. During the 2002-08 campaigns, both led brigades in different parts of the country that were accused of carrying out at least 76 of the killings, the group said.

"The generals are pretty much off the hook," José Miguel Vivanco, the Americas director for Human Rights Watch, contended.

A public scandal over the killings in 2008 led to the resignation of the then-army commander, the firing of a few high-level officers and a stained reputation of then-President Alvaro Uribe, who had aggressively escalated the campaign against the guerrillas, most notably the leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the New York Times recalled.

But questions should also be raised about U.S. involvement, as American authorities did not adequately oversee the human-rights record of the Colombian armed forces, Latin America's largest recipient of military aid from Washington, Human Rights Watch suggested.

"It's crystal clear that the United States has failed to conduct a serious vetting and scrutiny of the actions conducted by Colombian security forces with training, intelligence and equipment provided by the U.S. government during all of these years," Vivanco said.