“The front line intends to carry out chaos and violence activities in Bogotá”: National Police

The commander of the Bogotá Metropolitan Police, General Eliécer Camacho Jiménez, confirmed that these activities would take place within the marches scheduled for victims' day

Integrantes de la primera línea marchan hoy por las calles de Bogotá (Colombia). EFE/Ricardo Maldonado Rozo

This Saturday, April 9, the date on which the National Day of Memory and Solidarity with Victims is commemorated in Colombia, the commander of the Bogotá Metropolitan Police, General E liécer Camacho Jiménez, revealed alleged plans to foster “chaos and violence” in some sectors of the capital organized by the so-called” first line”.

The Police Commander assured that, in accordance with the intelligence work carried out by the institution, it was possible to establish that the objective of the first line, as the group of young people who are at the forefront of social mobilizations and which acquired great relevance during the social uprising of 2021, is known as the group of young people who are at the forefront of social mobilizations and which acquired great relevance during the social uprising of 2021, seeks to destabilize the security of the city in the midst of the marches scheduled for the day.

“Today the Emberá community will be mobilized from the National Park to Plaza de Bolívar. Information obtained by the institution shows that the intention of some people who will enter the mobilization seek to affect the infrastructure of the city, but also to attack members of the National Police,” said General Camacho through a video shared on social networks.

In this regard, he appealed to this indigenous community, which has been settled in the National Park six months ago, after being displaced by armed groups in their territories and from where they have requested help from the Mayor's Office of the capital and the national government, to “not let themselves be motivated and carried away by issues of violence”, in front of claims they have expressed since the end of last year during the commemoration of this important date.

This announcement by the Bogotá Police Commander comes two days after a confrontation occurred between indigenous people from the Emberá community, in the vicinity of the National Park, and members of the Mobile Anti-Riot Squadron (Esmad), which were condemned by the mayor of Bogotá, Claudia López, who asked not to to instrumentalize the neros, or to make political manipulation.

“I want to regret, and express my pain and my rejection for this kind of confrontation, which is absolutely unnecessary. The Emberá community and the situation it has experienced in these months is unfair, wherever you look at it. No Colombian should be forcibly displaced from its territory. Bogotá rejects manipulation of children for violent acts and aggression against citizens and public servants, facts that we will report to the Prosecutor's Office. We expect the final pronouncement of the judges to reach a definitive solution,” said the president of the capital.

According to the balance of the National Police known to RCN Mundo, it revealed that, since April 28, 2021 to date, 2,175 incidents of criminal conduct arising from violent demonstration scenarios have been recorded.

“58 operations were directed against the 'frontline' criminal model, with the carrying out of 9 charges, 4 reconciliations and 272 arrests (233 by court order and 39 in flagrante in 162 searches),” the institution clarified.

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