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The Colombian government denounced this Sunday that guerrillas from the THE N and groups that marginalized themselves from the peace accord are behind the attacks on the public force in Bogotá, shaken by protests against police violence.
The government’s peace adviser, Miguel Ceballos, said in a video that the rebels they are “manipulating” the demonstrations that followed the death of Javier Ordonez at the hands of policemen, last Wednesday.
The brutal punishment, which included repeated discharges from an electric weapon, sparked protests and a series of rock and firebomb attacks against neighborhood police posts known as CAI.
Thirteen people, mostly young, have died in Bogotá and its surroundings. At least ten of the victims died from gunshot wounds, which, according to the city’s mayor’s office, were allegedly caused by police officers who fired “indiscriminately.”
Without referring to these complaints, Ceballos said that the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the FARC dissidents are to blame for the “vandalization” of dozens of CAIs in Bogotá.
“We hold the ELN responsible, directly to (…) Ariel, who is the person who runs the urban front of that guerrilla; We hold the leaders of the dissidents responsible (…), who are trying to destabilize the cities of Colombia by attacking the CAIs, ”he said.
“These actions do not seek more than to affect the security of the neighborhoods,” commented the High Commissioner for Peace.
In the wave of riots and clashes between protesters and the security forces, 194 uniformed men have also been injured, although the police have not specified how many of them from gunshot wounds.
Recognized as the last guerrilla in Colombia, the ELN has about 2,300 combatants and an extensive urban support network.
After the 2016 peace pact with the FARC, several groups of the former Marxist guerrillas continued to rise up in arms, although without a unified command. The authorities estimate that there would be little more than two thousand dissident rebels, with influence in remote areas of the country.
Mayor apologizes
The mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, apologized this Sunday for the abuses of the public force, in a ceremony that brought together relatives of those killed and injured during the bloody protests that broke out five days ago against police violence in Colombia.
In a closed event to avoid crowds in the pandemic, some 150 people were summoned in the Plaza de Bolívar, the political center of the country.
López apologized for each of the fatalities, mostly young people allegedly shot by members of the police.
“Recognizing the seriousness of what happened (…) honoring the memory of the victims and the pain of their families is the first essential step to build a process of truth and justice that enables one of reconciliation,” added López while several spectators burst into tears. .
López denounced the “indiscriminate use of firearms” by the security forces, despite “the clear instructions given (…) so that lethal weapons are never used” during the demonstrations.
In the middle of the event, Bryan Baquero, who lost his 19-year-old sister Angie, took the floor.
“We are living in a moment of sadness, pain, anguish,” he said moved.
The day before the mayor published an invitation to the event for the president on her social networks Ivan Duque, written in his own handwriting. But the president did not attend the ceremony.
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