Massacre in Ábrego (N. de Santander): five people are dead and this is what is known

Young peasants were chatting in a pool hall when armed men forced them to the ground and began firing indiscriminately. Eln, Epl and FARC dissidents are present in the Catatumbo area.

“They were young peasants who were talking at a billiard. An armed group on the fringes of the law arrived at the place, they tried to escape, but they shot all of them ”. That is a summary that an informed source of what happened gave to The viewer about what happened on the night of Saturday, March 6, in a rural area of ​​the municipality of Ábrego, located in Norte de Santander in the Catatumbo sub-region. Five of the people present, who were inhabitants of the sector dedicated to working the land, died. Five others are injured. This is what is known so far.

(In context: Massacre in Catatumbo: five dead and five wounded leaves attack in Ábrego)

The incident was recorded in a billiard on the Oropama village, on the road that leads from the municipality of Ábrego to La Playa de Belén. Between 9:30 and 9:40 p.m., the young peasants were chatting when heavily armed men arrived on a motorcycle, ordered everyone present to throw themselves to the ground, and began indiscriminately shooting at least ten people. The Ombudsman’s Office rejected what happened and demanded investigations to find those responsible.

“We urge the authorities to find those responsible for such an unfortunate event and to take measures that guarantee the protection of the community. We send our condolences to the families of the victims and condemn these actions that mourn the country, ”said the Ombudsman Carlos Camargo. In the same way where this massacre was registered, reported the Ombudsman’s Office, there have been two homicides so far in 2021, as well as one kidnapping.

(It may interest you: The inhabitants of Catatumbo suffer the last blows of an Epl that is in its decline)

The five fatalities are: Winston Prada Puentes, Heimer Ortiz Ballesteros, José Luis Vega Plata, Jesús Alberto Vega and Robinson Garay Barbosa. These are young peasants who were dedicated to agriculture, specifically the cultivation of tomatoes and onions. In a statement, the municipal mayor, Juan Carlos Jácome, said: “Our municipality is in mourning for this violent episode that fills many families with pain, a bloody event that abruptly ends the lives of mostly young peasants.”

In the statement, in addition, the mayor asked to clarify what happened and increase the available force. “To the violent, we make a call to peace, to respect the life of others as the most sacred good of human beings. I invite the community in general, without distinction of sex, race, religion or colors to unite in the rejection of this type of event that mourns our municipality, “added Jácome, according to the Cucuteño newspaper. The opinion.

And, since 2019, the National Government was warned of the great risks faced by the civilian population in Ábrego. In June of that year, the Ombudsman’s Office issued Early Warning 24, in which it asked the Executive and local authorities to take measures. The risk, explains that document, “stems from the probability that armed confrontations between the ELN and EPL guerrillas will be reactivated from movements of territorial repositioning by the latter insurgent group to resume their old positions in municipalities such as Hacarí, historical epicenter of its actions, and for which it has been organizing its advance from rural sectors of the municipalities of La Playa de Belén and Ábrego to attack the ELN ”.

Defense Minister Diego Molano is in Ocaña, also in Catatumbo, presiding over an extraordinary security council and by Sunday afternoon he would be delivering statements on the actions to be taken after what happened. As for who is behind the massacre, at the moment there are no further details, but in the area the Eln guerrillas are in constant confrontation with the Epl, and, more recently, the 33rd front of the FARC dissidents.