Soldier held by the ELN in Catatumbo was released

About to serve five months in captivity, professional soldier Yeison Martínez Tapias regained his freedom after the ELN handed over a group of abductees to the Ombudsman's Office and a Catholic Church commission.

Both organizations received those detained in rural Catatumbo and reported that among those released was Martínez, deprived of liberty when he distributed water in the municipality of Tibú in November 2021.

On March 21, the soldier's family received the only proof of survival that confirmed the ELN's authorship in the detention; the video in which Martínez Tapias was present lit a glimmer of hope among his relatives, who presumed him dead after three months of not hearing from him.

“From the moment I was detained, I have not received any physical or verbal abuse. I have been in good health, I have had a good diet. I had a good rest,” said Private Martínez in the audiovisual.

After regaining his freedom, the military man thanked him for the opportunity to return among his own: “Very happy to return home, to be with my parents, my wife and my children again, I am really happy. This is a long-awaited day, longed for, every day I asked my God a lot to get me out of here,” he declared.

On the other hand, the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, referred to the freedom of the group of persons held by the ELN, stating that “we are pleased that these people can return to their families and friends, and we also highlight the officials of the Regional Ocaña, headed by Defender Deissy Díaz, who successfully carried out this work humanitarian”.

He added that “From the Office of the Ombudsman we keep our humanitarian channels enabled to guarantee the right to freedom.” The official called for armed actors to “release all those in their power,” he said.

How was the soldier doing humanitarian work in Catatumbo deprived of liberty

The soldier was kidnapped by armed men in the village of Palmeras del Mirador, rural area of Tibú. Preliminary versions indicated that the incident occurred around 11:00 a.m. on November 3, when Yeison Martínez Tapia, in the company of fellow military officer Walter Orjuela Pineda, was delivering drinking water in a DIW-807 plate truck. At that time, armed subjects arrived and intercepted them.

According to Orjuela Pineda, his partner was in the cabin of the truck and the criminals forced him out. Faced with the impossibility of acting, he slipped through the bushes and thus managed to avoid being kidnapped. Then, the subversives fled with Private Martínez Tapias to the south, while Orjuela Pineda got back on the tanker and drove for more than three kilometers to the nearest Military Command Post (PMM), where he submitted the report of his companion's kidnapping.

Faced with this situation, the Military Gaula activated operations to find the soldier's whereabouts without obtaining immediate results. For months, the family requested the release of Private Martinez or a survival test indicating the status of their loved one, which was delivered in March 2021.

It should be noted that four armed groups operate outside the law in the Catatumbo: the dissidents of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), the Gaitanist Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AGC), also known as the Gulf Clan, the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the People's Liberation Army (EPL).

The dispute is over control of the territory since the area is a strategic point for controlling drug trafficking routes and border trails with Venezuela.

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