Prosecutor's Office denies that arrests were made in the questioned operation in Putumayo

On Wednesday, April 6, the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, ratified the legitimacy of the questioned military operation in the rural area of Puerto Leguizamo municipality, Putumayo, in which 11 alleged members of the dissidents of the demobilized FARC guerrillas were killed and four others were captured by the public forces.

This military operation, carried out on March 28 by the Army, Navy and Air Force in the Alto Remanso village, was described by social organizations and inhabitants of the sector as a case of 'false positives' on the grounds that a group of civilians who would have been killed, including a minor, a chairman of a community action board and an indigenous leader, was also denied by the Prosecutor's Office as to those arrested.

The research body issued a statement on Tuesday confirming the “report of the discovery of 11 dead bodies; of three injured people who were taken to the clinic in Puerto Asís; and of a minor handed over to the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF)”, which would coincide, in part, with the announcement made by the Army, President Iván Duque and Minister Molano.

However, in the document the Prosecutor's Office specifies that the “military component in charge of the known activity did not report any capture or provide the records supporting such a procedure”, clarifying that the investigating body has not placed persons at the disposal of a guarantee control judge, thereby denying the official version.

This statement by the Prosecutor's Office would refute the statements delivered by the first president and the head of the Defence portfolio hours after the military operation was carried out in which they had assured that four alleged members of FARC dissidents had been captured by the security forces.

This official version had also been questioned by senior researcher in the Americas division of Human Rights Watch (HRW), Juan Pappier, who pointed out that Minister Molano owed an “explanation to Colombians and an apology to people he unjustly branded as' criminals. '”

Finally, the Prosecutor's Office confirmed that it will continue to carry out the investigative work with the aim of clarifying what happened in the midst of this operation and determining the responsibilities involved, in the midst of this grave news denouncing the murder of civilians, as was able to confirm the Office of the Ombudsman.

“The office of the Attorney General of the Nation, Francisco Barbosa, set up a team of prosecutors and investigators from the Special Directorate against Human Rights Violations, the Special Investigation Unit and the Putumayo Branch. This group has carried out various investigative and judicial activities such as technical inspection of the corpse, processing of the scene, interviews, among others”, concluded the investigating body.

Among the victims that the Ombudsman's Office has been able to confirm are a 16-year-old teenager, the president of the community action board Davier Hernández Rojas, his wife, and the indigenous leader Pablo Panduro Cochinque.

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