Massacre in Buenos Aires, Cauca: stories of attack survivors – Other Cities – Colombia

In the Munchique village, in Buenos Aires, Cauca, it was thought that “the end of the world” had arrived. There were real noises that shook at 1 in the afternoon of this Sunday, September 20, the humble houses of this rural town about 10 minutes from the urban area of ​​this municipality.

For about 30 minutes, the rifle fire against the worn brick dwellings of Munchique never stopped. There were also grenade explosions. There was a cloud of gunpowder in the sky and rivers of blood on the ground. In the background, a group of hooded men could be seen firing left and right.

(We inform you: They confirm the massacre of six young people in Buenos Aires, Cauca)

Witnesses to this attack, in which six young people died, say that the tragedy they are crying today could be worse. In the house where the cruel massacre took place, there were about 20 boys playing with roosters. It was not properly a cockpit and there was no money involved.

“Some hooded men came to that house. They started shooting at all of us who were there ”, One of the survivors told EL TIEMPO.

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Those young people were cousins, brothers and friends who this Sunday met in that house to relax from the hard days as mining workers, an activity for which – family members indicated – they have all the records in order.

In the attack, many managed to flee by jumping down ravines; however, the bullets hit some youngsters quickly.

One of the survivors said that he tried to drag his wounded brother to safety, but the fury of the attack did not allow him.

The dying young man said: “Go away or we will end the two dead.”

The hidden survivor of the criminal action saw when one of the hooded men touched his brother’s pulse and finished him with shots de grace.

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“The men were hooded, but they never identified themselves. To those who were dying they touched the pulse, if they had not died they would finish them off, like animals “, another of the survivors said.

The victims, all of them relatives and friends, were between 16 and 26 years old. They were identified as Juan Mancilla, Kevin Caicedo, Víctor Caicedo, Juan Salinas, John Barrado and Harrison Balanta.

The mayor of Buenos Aires, Óscar Edwin López, stated that he rejects the barbarism that his people are crying today and asked for help from the National Government so that this crime does not go unpunished.

For his part, General Marco Mayorga, commander of the Army’s Third Division, pointed out that the structure “Jaime Martínez”, a dissident of the Farc, commits a crime in that sector. This armed group, Mayorga said, is preliminary attributed the responsibility for the massacre, “although we must not rule out other hypotheses.”

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A tragedy foretold

The Ombudsman’s Office rejected what happened and recalled that through an early warning issued on April 30, in which a similar case was documented against three people who were killed in a pool hall, they had warned that these violent events could be repeated.

“We insist on the urgent need to eradicate the factors of violence that affect rights and constantly endanger the lives of Colombians. We call for a prompt response to the early warnings that we have been issuing and to avoid events such as the one we are lamenting. There were two alerts issued, generated in the month of April, for five months the events were alerted, “said the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Assis.

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The early warning specifically indicates the Timba, La Balsa and Mary López sectors, as well as Honduras and Munchique and El Naya. “

In addition to the Jaime Martínez dissent, a structure led by Jhoany Noscué, alias Mayimbú, in Buenos Aires, men from the Eln are also present. The inhabitants of this area declare themselves in total danger, as they emphasize that there is little public force that is seen.

NATION DRAFTING
With reporting from POPAYÁN and CALI