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Colombian President warns of consequences of Catatumbo crisis

Bogotá, Jan. 22 (Prensa Latina) Colombian President Gustavo Petro said that violence in the Catatumbo region could become the most dramatic in contemporary history.

Petro acknowledged the existence of failures in the work of Intelligence to detect the transfer of men from the National Liberation Army (ELN), who allegedly moved from the department of Arauca to Norte de Santander to carry out the armed actions that are taking place in the area. “We should have had some kind of information, and we did not,” he lamented and considered that the current public order crisis constitutes a failure for the country.

According to Ombudsman Iris Marín, at least 32 thousand people are reported as displaced due to fighting, mostly having arrived in the departments of Cúcuta (15,086), Ocaña (11,503) and Tibú (5,300). She also reported that confinement is maintained in several areas and that there were confirmations of the murder of at least five peace signatories, the forced disappearance of several of them, and the kidnapping of another group.

According to Marín’s statements, the operation to remove bodies continues and forensic examinations were carried out on 35 of them. She also said that the operation of the Public Force with the support of the United Nations for the extraction of people at risk in the conflict zones is still underway.

The official commented that during this day three humanitarian missions were carried out together with the Catholic Church, in which the release of the former mayor of the municipality of San Cayetano was achieved, and the delivery of another 11 people. With the support of the mayors of Tibú, Teorama, El Tarra, and Convención, she added, 20 individuals were recovered, and the confinement of women and children who could not access means of subsistence or move was lifted. She also assured that the ELN communicated its commitment to guarantee humanitarian access and de-escalate its armed actions.

According to the Ministry of Defense, once the evacuation phase of the civilian population from the localities in confrontations is concluded, the troops will begin territorial control work to secure the critical areas and return tranquility to the confined communities. For this mission, the Vulcan Task Force and the 30th Brigade already have more than five thousand uniformed personnel who will reinforce the security of Norte de Santander.

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