Two alleged members of the ELN were sent to prison in Norte de Santander

The National Police in Norte de Santander, through its Special Operations Group (GOES), captured two persons allegedly belonging to the Hector Front of the ELN guerrilla group. Information from the Attorney General's Office, warns that the men were caught in flagrante on April 1, when they were mobilizing on a motorcycle in the Santa Clara neighborhood of Ocaña (Norte de Santander).

The persons under investigation, Moisés Santiago Guerrero, alias Simon and Wilder Santiago Barbosa, alias Walter, are accused of participating in various terrorist actions and the recruitment of minors in Norte de Santander. In addition, they will be prosecuted for the crimes of manufacturing, trafficking and carrying of firearms or ammunition and the manufacture, trafficking and carrying of weapons, ammunition for restricted use.

Colonel Carlos Martínez, commander of the Norte de Santander Police, said that the captured persons were found in their possession a 9mm Pietro Beretta pistol-type firearm, a magazine with 15 9mm cal cartridges, an IM-26 fragmentation grenade and two cell phones that will be part of the respective investigation.

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During the judicialization hearings that took place on Tuesday afternoon, the detainees did not accept the charges and were sheltered with a custodial assurance measure in the Ocaña prison facility. It should be noted that alias Simon submits a valid arrest warrant for the crime of forced recruitment requested by the First Criminal Court for the Control of Ambulante Guarantees of Valledupar.

Regarding the work carried out by the National Police to capture these two men, the departmental commander said: “We knew that alias Andrea, commander of the company of the Hector del ELN front, had sent a guerrilla cell to the municipality of Ocaña, with the aim of carrying out terrorist attacks, kidnappings and extortions, thanks to intelligence work is achieved the capture of two subjects linked to the recruitment of minors in Norte de Santander and south of Cesar”.

As far as the Catatumbo is concerned, the ELN is considered to be one of the strongest groups there with a significant number of combatants; its activity was most notorious, after the signing of peace by the former FARC guerrillas with the Colombian State.

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According to the report “Balance on the dynamics of the ELN in Colombia”, carried out by Indepaz in 2021, “the department most affected by the ELN's permanence is Antioquia, followed by Cauca, Chocó, Norte de Santander and Nariño, areas that today are the focus of different conflicts and the greatest dispute over the presence of different armed groups, since they have conditions such as border crossings and exits to the sea that facilitate illegal economies and tactical retreats”.

It is important to note that on March 29, the Ocaña Regional Ombudsman's Office reported that five people who had been deprived of liberty by the ELN were released. “Thanks to the humanitarian management carried out, the release of five people who were in the possession of the National Liberation Army was achieved,” said the Office of the Ombudsman

The people who were released were: professional soldier Yeison Martínez Tapia and civilians Galy David Soto Barranco, José Álvaro Rodríguez Gélvez, Isaura María Paz Contreras and Yair Daniel Osorio Contreras.

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