Minister Diego Molano will be called again for a motion of censure for an operation in Putumayo where 11 people died

In recent days, a strong controversy has arisen because different national media reported a series of irregularities in the operation carried out on March 28 by the National Army in the Alto Remanso district, in the municipality of Puerto Leguizamo in Putumayo, where it was initially said that it was a operation against FARC Dissidents, and it was later known that 11 civilians were discharged, known as extrajudicial executions and which is considered a violation of International Humanitarian Law.

So Defense Minister Diego Molano, who has defended the army's actions and justified the operation by arguing that it had been prepared earlier and that the Bazaar event would have been driven by dissent, will have to face a new motion of censure in Congress.

The news was released by the representative of the Green Party, Katherine Miranda, who assured that the case released by national media and denounced by civilians cannot be ignored.

“The massacre by the National Army, denounced by different media outlets and especially by the civilian population, makes it absolutely necessary for all political sectors to come together to hold Minister Diego Molano and the senior army commanders to account,” the congresswoman noted in a video she posted on social media.

He added: “It is not possible that human rights will continue to be violated in our country, which is why we are seriously considering calling for a motion of censure against Minister Diego Molano to answer the country for these serious acts.”

For her part, María José Pizarro pointed out that the events in Putumayo are “extremely serious” and that uniformed men cannot be allowed to carry out acts of violence against the civilian population, so she asked that not only the minister of explanations, but also those of the president, Iván Duque, who was one of the first to celebrate the operational.

“This is a dramatic return to war, a dramatic return to 'false positives'. Journalistic investigations have shown the involvement of the military forces, serious signs of this involvement. That is why we immediately announced the participation of a motion of censure against the Minister of Defense. Ivan Duque and Diego Molano must answer for what happened in Puerto Leguizamo Putumayo.”

On April 5, Angelica Lozano and Antonio Sanguino, senators of the Green Alliance, held a political control debate against Molano over the same events in which civilians were killed, including a minor, a pregnant woman, an indigenous governor and a president of the Community Action Board.

In the first investigations carried out by a Verification Mission, it was concluded that this intervention was an extrajudicial execution and that there is no basis for this crime. In addition, in the investigation carried out by El Espectador, Vorágine and Cambio magazine, evidence and testimony were collected where it is evident that the day the events took place the operation turned into a massacre.

Among the population's complaints, accounts were released stating that the soldiers had not worn their uniforms, had not helped the wounded, robbed the locals, that they had presented themselves as guerrillas and that they had not respected IHL.

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