Alarming figures: As of December 2024, 1,600 former combatants would be murdered in the country

During the national hearing of the Special Jurisdiction for Peace, in which the precautionary measures for the ex-combatants of the Farc who signed the peace process were addressed, andhe director of the Investigation and Accusation Unit, Giovanni Álvarez, presented an alarming study on the numbers of former combatants killed in the last four years.

The report revealed that the number of homicides of ex-guerrillas is much higher than that registered by members of the FARC party. According to the Investigation Unit, there are 251 ex-guerrillas who were assassinated since the signing of the Peace Agreement, between November 2016 and November 25, 2020. The most serious thing is that Álvarez himself assured that if the figures continue like this, It could be expected that by December 2024 there will be 1,600 ex-combatants killed in the country.

In addition to the data, the report also questioned the guarantees of the National Government and the justifications it has given regarding the death of the signatories of the process, which are based on three axes: drug trafficking, personal fights and dissent from the Farc.

“If drug trafficking were a determining factor in homicides, it would be expected that this phenomenon would occur in most coca-growing municipalities. However, the evidence indicates the opposite: 6 out of 10 coca-growing municipalities do not present this kind of victimizing acts, ”Álvarez mentioned.

This is assured because in 176 municipalities of the country there are coca crops and also ex-guerrillas, but in 111 of these municipalities there have been no homicides of signatories of the agreement.

According to the report presented, of the 249 homicides registered, only in 5 of them the cause could be a fight. That is, only 2% of deaths are related to this.

Regarding the attributions of the homicides to the FARC dissidents, the director of the Unit confirmed that they are not a single and homogeneous organization, but rather three independent groups. However, the report records that the FARC dissidents are responsible for almost half of the murders of the ex-guerrillas.

In fact, 91 assassinations of ex-combatants have occurred in areas and contexts where there are disputes between dissident groups.

The report also showed that the vast majority of the assassinated ex-combatants were rank and file guerrillas in times of war. Only 10 of the victims had some important position in the Farc.

For her part, Senator Victoria Sandino issued a statement in which she mentions her concern regarding the cases of murdered former colleagues.

“Yesterday, November 24, 2020, it was 4 years since the signing of the Peace Agreement and unfortunately, instead of being a date on which we should celebrate the advancement and consolidation of peace, we are carrying out this diligence national for the murders and the persecution that exists against those of us who lay down our arms. Just last night in the middle of a debate on political control of the national government for the assassination of leaders and former guerrillas, they assassinated at that moment our comrade Paola Andrea Osorio, near Quibdó, on the eve of the international day of the elimination of the violence against women, ”she mentioned in a press release.

He assures that what has been happening with the ex-combatants is extremely serious, since every week between one and two murders are registered, in addition, he denounced that an attempt has been made to install in public opinion the idea that the ex-guerrillas are not complying with the agreement , even though more than 95% of the signatories continue in the process.

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