Alias Jhon Mechas promoted a robbery against a military base in Norte de Santander that left 17 wounded, according to the Army

On the morning of March 19, a group of about 200 people tried to enter the La Esperanza Military Base The Energy Operational Command No. 1 located in the municipality of El Tarra, in Norte de Santander. The action left 17 people injured, three soldiers with injuries to their faces and one more civilian dead. According to the Army, these were persons instrumentalized by armed groups that commit crimes in the area and who are fighting this unit.

General Omar Sepúlveda, commander of the Second Division of the National Army, spoke this Sunday on the events and directly pointed to alias Jhon Mechas and alias Pedro to instrumentalize civilians, most of whom are Venezuelan nationals, to attack the public forces in that municipality.

As explained by the general, this is one of the strategic bases for in-depth operations against drug trafficking and residual organized armed groups 19 and 33. The group of people reportedly passed the security perimeter and assaulted the soldiers who were in the unit.

“Throwing improvised explosive devices at him, dropping a number of Molotov bombs for the sole purpose of flagrantly attacking the integrity of the soldiers of the homeland operating in that area. There three of our men were completely affected with serious injuries, which have been treated by our combat nurses,” said General Sepúlveda.

“Jhon Mechas and alias Pedro are responsible for instrumentalizing the defenseless civilian population of El Tarra and Venezuelan citizens to initiate that robbery against the military base,” added the commander of the Second Division.

According to General Sepúlveda, the deceased person would be one of the participants of the asonada, who was killed by the activation of an explosive device that they charged to attack the uniformed men of whom two have already been found and which have already been destroyed.

These devices were also reportedly used against Army gates in the vicinity of the base. In videos released by the same authority, several people are seen dismantling those constructions made with bundles of sand and holidays. In addition, rifle fire was recorded at the security forces.

Despite the fact that the mayor's office of El Tarra imposed a curfew to control public order throughout the municipality, the measure was not carried out by several citizens who held the assault against the military base.

General Sepúlveda argued that soldiers of the Second Division have not used war material against civilians at any time and that they respect their rights. Stun grenades and tear gas were used to deter people.

Another version that has become known of the asonada, would be because of a group of people who tried to invade some land in the vicinity of the military base, because they do not have housing, especially the migrant population. According to data from local authorities, there are more than 6000 people of foreign nationality in the municipality of El Tarra and approximately 1000 of them are illegally occupying land in the municipality.

The mayor Yair Díaz assured that the asonada left 17 people injured and one dead. It requested a human rights commission to verify the effects of the population with the security forces and called on armed groups not to instrumentalize the civilian population. It also called for humanitarian assistance to provide housing and employment services to migrants in what it described as a crisis.

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