For this Tuesday, April 19, opposition parties that filed a motion of censure against the Minister of Defense, Diego Molano, demand that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Jennifer Arias, give the green light to what could be one of the defining moments of politics in Colombia.
A total of 30 representatives ask Arias to mark this date as the beginning of what would be another pulse between the government and the opposition, this time because of the controversial results of a military operation that took place in Puerto Leguizamo on March 24.
The request has its chance given that legislators return to work since Monday, so they consider it appropriate to face the motion before the electoral landscape turns the tables again starting in May.
For Katherine Miranda, one of the most demanding representatives in this process of political control, “The serious situation that was seen in Putumayo makes it absolutely necessary for the Speaker of the House of Representatives to define the date of the debate on the motion of censure as soon as possible. I personally hope that Tuesday will be defined as it is the day when we have our plenary session,” he said.
It should be noted that Arias must resolve within the next few hours the call for this motion of censure, following the provisions of the fifth law for this type of procedure.
For Representative Jorge Gómez: “Colombian society cannot fail to pass these serious events. This first week of Easter should be held the session of the debate on the motion of censure and then two, three days later the session must be summoned to vote the censure of the minister, which I think is happening,” he said.
It should be noted that Diego Molano indicated that he will face this political control as part of his duties as a public official, for which reason: “As Minister of Defense, we will always attend those sessions of political control as we should in our role, with the certainty that we have in Colombia military forces and a police force that its main purpose is to combat those enemies of the country to guarantee life and tranquility in any corner of the territory,” said the minister in the balance of military operations of April 13.
The official maintained the line of argument regarding the controversial operation carried out by the National Army, insisting that it was a legitimate action against an armed group outside the law and that, in addition, it generates violence against the population of southern Colombia.
The head of portfolio assured that the operation was planned five months ago before giving the green light to its development.
Molano explained that the intelligence of the Navy had information about the presence of illegal groups in the territory, which carried out activities related to drug trafficking. He also noted that the purpose of the operation was to give effect to an arrest warrant and in the process “all protocols of International Humanitarian Law were complied with”.
The minister's claims were supported by the commander of the Military Forces, General Luis Fernando Navarro, who claimed that the operation was trying to affect an illegal network that had been committing crimes in the region.
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