Diego Molano responds to motion of censure against him for operation in Putumayo

The Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, has already reacted to the announcement of a motion of censure that some opposition congressmen filed this week, to explain the military operation in Putumayo, where civilians were reportedly killed, who were later presented as members of FARC dissidents.

At a press conference, Molano assured that he will attend any political control session to which he is cited, “as we should in our role,” and says he is confident that the Military Forces and Police are doing their best to “fight those enemies of Colombia to guarantee the life and tranquility of Colombians in any corner of the country”.

In addition, the head of the Defence portfolio said that he would be willing to respond to decisions made in that debate. He also said that he has collaborated and will continue to do so with information so that the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation carry out investigations that they consider appropriate, and that internal investigations are being carried out within the Security Forces.

However, he insisted that the operation carried out in the Alto Remanso village, under the jurisdiction of the municipality of Puerto Leguizamo, was “against the dissidents of the FARC of border commandos.” He referred to them as:

A group of congressmen from the Green Alliance, the Decency List, the Commons Party and the Liberal Party filed this April 12 the proposal for the debate before the House of Representatives.

In the text, they assured that the journalistic reports that uncovered the scandal have testimonies, photographs and documentary evidence that would show that the military operation took place in the presence of civilians and in the midst of community activity.

Congressmen assured that among the dead are the president of the Community Action Board, his pregnant wife, the indigenous governor of the reservation and a minor.

For now, the date of the debate will be known only after Easter, as the Speaker of the House, Jennifer Arias, has only 10 days to schedule it.

Since he took office and in his 14 months of work, it is the third summons that Diego Molano has received for a debate on the motion of censure in the Colombian Congress for his management in the Ministry of Defense. The first two did not succeed due to lack of votes, so Molano has been able to retain his position.

The first time a motion of censure was requested against him, the minister had to answer for an operation carried out by the security forces against FARC dissidents in March 2021. Several minors died on that occasion, but Molano justified the attack by saying that the guerrillas use “the recruitment of young people to turn them into war machines” and use them as human shields.

The second time it had to do with the overreach of the security forces in the framework of the April 2021 National Strike, which included actions such as arbitrary arrests, sexual abuse and homicides against civilians.

KEEP READING: