Responsible for the murder of two social leaders in Ocaña and Ituango were convicted

This Saturday, April 23, the Attorney General's Office announced that the alleged perpetrators of two murders against social leaders in the municipalities of Ocaña, Norte de Santander, and Ituango, Antioquia, who would belong to criminal structures inheriting paramilitarism and the PLA, were sentenced by justice to 16 and 18 years of prison.

The investigating body announced that a criminal circuit judge convicted Anderson Jair Quintero Quintana, alias El Abuelo or Mayron, who would belong to the armed criminal group 'Los Pelusos', was sentenced to 18 years and five months in prison for the murder of six people between 2014 and 2020 in the Catatumbo region, including the social leader of Ocaña, Maria del Carmen Florez.

“Among the victims is the leader, who was attacked by two armed men who were mobilizing on a motorcycle, on March 16, 2016″, being one of the crimes for which 'El Abuelo' was sentenced by preagreement for the crimes of aggravated homicide, illegal carrying of aggravated firearms and a concert to commit crime.

The Prosecutor's Office also reported that the strength of the evidence provided by a prosecutor from the Special Investigation Unit (UEI) was decisive for Alexander Hernández López, alias 'El Zarco', who would be part of the 'Gulf Clan', to be found responsible for the murder of Ituango's social leader, Fernando José Oquendo Jaramillo.

In this regard, the authorities were able to establish that the man who would belong to the residual structure of the paramilitary groups was responsible for the murder of the social leader that was perpetrated on 6 July 2018, in the village of El Torrente,

“The Prosecutor's Office established that alias El Zarco was part of the armed group that entered the victim's home and shot him indiscriminately. In this regard, he was sentenced for the crimes of: aggravated homicide; and manufacturing, trafficking and carrying of weapons, ammunition for restricted use, of exclusive use of armed forces or aggravated explosive”, concluded the investigating body.

The Organization of American States (OAS) Mission to Support the Peace Process (MAPP/OAS) in Colombia expressed concern over the murder of social leaders in the department of Cauca, condemning the killing of three people in this region, stressing that illegal groups perpetuate violence without respect for their integrity communities, which have unfortunately suffered the harshness of the conflict throughout history.

The murders of social leader Richard Betancourt, the young Karol Osorio and the farmer Carlos Cunda, are the main reason for the message sent by this organization. Similarly, for several months now there has been a demand for the cessation of violence in different areas where the conflict is taking place, because despite infinite efforts, this worrying situation continues to persist. It should be noted that the OAS has carried out various accompaniments to the implementation of the Peace Agreement in the country, since its signing.

KEEP READING