Ombudsman reiterates the importance of advancing the investigation for the controversial operation in Putumayo

This Wednesday, April 13, the Office of the Ombudsman reiterated the importance of advancing the judicial investigation to clarify the events that occurred in the midst of the controversial operation carried out by the public forces in Puerto Leguizamo, Putumayo, in which civilians were killed.

This was stated by the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo, who indicated that since March 29, the day after the operation directed against FARC dissidents was carried out, the entity has been carrying out humanitarian missions in the Alto Remanso area in which different versions of the community have been heard, which have reported an alleged case of 'false positives'.

Among the versions collected by the Office of the Ombudsman, the community agrees that this operation, which was carried out on the morning of 28 March, the date on which a bazaar with a large number of participants from areas around this town ended, would have started with military personnel who wore uniforms other than which left 11 people dead and 5 wounded, including a professional soldier.

“It is imperative that the authorities responsible for investigating the facts. The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation, in exercise of their preferential power and the Office of the Prosecutor, with due diligence, carry out a thorough and prompt investigation to obtain clear information on what happened. In particular on the development of the operation carried out on March 28,” said defender Camargo.

In that regard, he noted that it was important to determine whether the rules of international humanitarian law were respected, with regard to the principles of precaution, distinction and proportionality, and called for an investigation of whether there were victims other than those identified in the operation, as pointed out by some members of the community, which claim that people fell into the river.

“We emphatically call on organized armed groups to respect the principle of distinction. Do not hide or use civil society as an urban shield. It is also important for the Office of the Ombudsman to emphasize that the purpose of early warnings is fundamentally preventive and does not contain recommendations related to the conduct of offensive military operations,” said the official.

Finally, he noted that the Office of the Ombudsman found widespread fear among the population of dams that could be perpetrated by illegal armed groups that are present in this region, which is why they called on the national and local authorities to take the necessary actions to meet the needs of the community.

The Ombudsman's Office was one of the first entities to warn that in the middle of this operation in rural Puerto Leguizamo, the president of the community action board, his wife, a child under 17 and an indigenous governor were murdered, a version that contrasts the information issued by the National Army, President Iván Duque and the Minister of Defense Diego Molano.

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