President Duque denies deaths of civilians at the hands of the security forces in operations in Putumayo

Despite the fact that the Office of the Ombudsman confirmed the deaths of civilians in the military attack carried out on March 28 in Puerto Leguizamo (Putumayo), the President of the Republic, Iván Duque, said on the afternoon of Friday, March 31, that “the Army acted with all military protocols”.

Among the victims reported by the entity, were the president of the Community Action Board, Divier Hernández Rojas, his wife, a 16-year-old teenager and indigenous governor Pablo Panduro Coquinche.

Regarding this operation, President Iván Duque, said that the information has been clear in emphasizing that the people killed were armed. “The Army has been explaining point by point, first the planning of the operation and second the evidence of armed personnel, of drugs, there are seizures and other than that we have some of our wounded men,” he said.

In the same way, the head of state indicated that the Military Forces will respond to all the requests made by the supervisory bodies, such as the specific case of the Attorney General's Office, insisting that “there should be no doubt about the actions of the authorities,” said the president who is less than six months of surrendering power.

You may be interested: Attorney General's Office asks the Army for explanations for the operation in Putumayo in which civilians were killed

The president's words would go against what was said by the entity of the Public Prosecutor's Office, where the allegations of indigenous and social organizations would be confirmed, “It is important to be clear that all the protocols of the force have been acted upon and of course, on that understanding, all urgent acts have to be carried out part of the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation and all the clarity required by any supervisory body will also have to be made,” said Iván Duque.

On the same day as the president's statements, the Office of the Delegate Procurator for the Defence of Human Rights sent a letter to the commander of the military forces, Luis Fernando Navarro, which says: “The people discharged from this operation would be a woman, a president of the community action board, a minor, a governor of an indigenous reservation and two other persons, as well as missing bodies. This information is highly contradictory to the official information presented by the Army and the Ministry of National Defense to public opinion,” the letter states.

“It is therefore necessary to remember that attacks against civilians are prohibited by International Humanitarian Law, which is why it is imperative that the central command of the military forces serve to clarify what happened in the operation carried out on March 28,” explained the Office of the Procurator in the letter sent to the Military Forces.

It may interest you: Ombudsman's Office confirms deaths of civilians in military operation in Putumayo

Finally, in his statements to the press, the president once again defended the National Army and left another announcement: “The other basic message is that the evidence that has been delivered also clearly shows that the criminals who were there, the weaponry they had and something that hurts us also some of our key men were injured in that exchange of fire,” he reaffirmed.

Since the day of the official announcement, the Colombian Army has maintained that “the military operation carried out was legal, legitimate and complied with all the protocols and guidelines stipulated in military doctrine for the development of offensive actions against criminal structures, safeguarding human rights and abiding by the provisions of international humanitarian law”.

The Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, pointed out that in the place where the events took place “there were not innocent peasants, but members of the FARC dissidents.”

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