Senate Peace Commission to meet in Puerto Leguizamo, Putumayo

The Peace Commission of the Congress of the Republic met in an extraordinary way this Wednesday to discuss the findings of the military operation in Puerto Leguizamo, Putumayo. The members decided to move to the territory and set up a special session in the municipality.

The news was released by Senator Roy Barreras through his Twitter account. “We have just approved at the Peace Commission going to Putumayo to listen to the victims of the last massacre, to gather information for an upcoming debate and to make a presence and express condolences to the relatives of those killed on behalf of the Colombian State in the face of the indolence of the executive,” the congressman wrote.

In the special session, which is planned for April 20-22, they summoned Defense Minister Diego Molano; Army Commander General Luis Fernando Navarro; and Peace Commissioner Juan Camilo Restrepo. They also invited the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa; the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo; the head of the UN on Human Rights; and that of the OAS Follow-up Mission to the Peace Process Roberto Menéndez.

For his part, Senator Antonio Sanguino reiterated the summons of the portfolio manager through his social networks. “We have summoned MinDefensa Diego Molano to compete with General Navarro and Zapateiro. The international community has also been invited,” he commented in a trill.

It should be recalled that details of the operation in Puerto Leguizamo were recently known. The media El Espectador, Vorágine and Revista Cambio traveled to the scene in Alto Remanso village and collected evidence and testimony showing that the operation turned into a massacre against innocent civilians.

The media indicated that the 11 civilians were presented as alleged FARC dissidents by the Ministry of Defense. Notable is the death of Brayan Santiago Pama, a minor under the age of 16; Ana María Sarrias, a pregnant woman; Divier Hernández, president of the Community Action Board; and Pablo Panduro Coquinche, Indigenous Governor of the Kicwa Bajo Remanso Cabildo.

In context: What is the truth about the Army operation in Putumayo where 11 civilians died

Although social organizations and the community itself point out that the event would be a 'false positive', the Ministry of Defense, the commander of the National Army, General Eduardo Zapateiro, and President Iván Duque himself maintain the position that the operation was carried out with all the protocols of international law Humanitarian (IHL). They also emphasized that the Office of the Prosecutor General of the Nation is carrying out the respective investigation.

The situation in Chocó

In addition to the proposal that was approved for a session in Putumayo, the Peace Commission also gave the green light to travel to Chocó due to increased violence in the department.

The mayor of Quibdó, Martín Emilio Sánchez, said that so far this year there have been 61 homicides in the municipality in acts related to criminal gangs. “This situation is beyond the administrative capacity we have, we hold the national government responsible for what continues to happen in our city,” declared the local president and assured that the Duque administration “didn't care about anything that happened in Chocó.”

Following his statements, the Government implemented measures that have a broad capacity of the security forces to address this context. Although Sanchez welcomed the Government's commitment to air and ground patrolling, the legislature considered that the situation required the public hearing they convened.

In this case, Molano was also cited together with the Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palacios. In turn, the authorities of Quibdo and the department, the Attorney General, the Ombudsman and the Prosecutor Margarita Cabello were invited.

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