The debate began on April 20, when Gustavo Petro spoke on his Twitter account about the death of seven soldiers following an attack by the Gulf Clan in the municipality of Frontino, in western Antioquia.
“While the soldiers are killed by the Gulf clan, some of the generals are on the Clan's payroll. The top is corrupted when it is the politicians of drug trafficking who end up promoting the generals,” said the political leader.
These statements aroused the discomfort of the Army commander, General Eduardo Zapateiro, who responded to him with a thread of six messages. “There is no one who hurts the death of a soldier more than those of us who wear the camouflage,” he said in the first instance, adding a figure of the military who lost their lives in the middle of their duties last year.
Following this, Zapateiro told Petro that he “does not use his investiture (parliamentary inviolability) to try to politicize with the death of our soldiers.” He concluded by stating: “I have not seen any general on television receiving ill-gotten money. Colombians have seen you receive money in a garbage bag.”
This first crossing of messages brought with it all kinds of reactions from various political sectors, many of whom criticized Zapateiro for allegedly participating in politics, an aspect that is prohibited for public servants under the Colombian Political Constitution. In article 219, the magna carta states that “members of the security forces may not exercise the function of suffrage while on active duty, nor may they participate in activities or debates of political parties or movements”.
At a press conference, when Petro was asked about the words of the Army General, he said he did not name him in his initial message, so he did not understand “why he feels alluded to”. Other presidential candidates, such as Sergio Fajardo and Rodolfo Hernández, also disagreed with Zapateiro's position.
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A couple of days after what happened, the commander of the Army reappeared and talked about the importance of leaving “teachings” in institutions. “In the end, what is really left? The teachings. Nothing else. And in that I always take care of myself, to set an example and teach,” he said in dialogue with Semana.
In this regard, the member of the security forces maintained that he has educated several generations about his positions:
“Then I will never leave, because they will follow the legacy... that is what I honorably defended,” Zapateiro concluded.
The general's position has been endorsed by Federico Gutiérrez, candidate for the Casa de Nariño of the Team for Colombia: “There are those who disappeared institutions, there are those who despise democracy and there are those who disappear our public forces, on the contrary, I send him all my support, solidarity and gratitude.”
In the same vein was former President Álvaro Uribe, who, without referring directly to Petro or General Zapateiro, reacted to the statements by both of them that fueled the controversy in the last few hours: “The Armed Forces equally protect those of one political orientation and another, each member risks life and family, they are not deliberative but they have every right to defend their honor.”
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