Persons arrested during army operation in Putumayo were released by a guarantee judge

The controversy continues for the armed forces after the military operation in Putumayo that left eleven people dead. As part of the operation carried out by the National Army, four people were injured and assured by the authorities that they were members of the FARC dissidents, although the relatives indicated that they had no connection with the terrorist organization.

Well, it was now indicated that a judge of guarantees released the four prisoners, as mentioned by the prosecutor, since he did not find merit or evidence to prosecute the detainees. The operation carried out in the Alto Remanso village has been widely criticized by social organizations that claim that at least seven of the eleven people killed were civilians.

Army operation in Putumayo could be described as “false positive” confirmed humanitarian commission that visited the area

After the operation carried out by the National Army on March 28, in Puerto Leguizamo, Putumayo, a Verification Mission went to the area of interference to investigate the incident. After collecting the data obtained, they concluded that this intervention was an extrajudicial execution, in this case, both operational and posterity, it left open doubts in relation to this case, although the main justification of the Ministry of Defense is that they sought to deal a heavy blow to the armed structures of the known as Segunda Marquetalia, the evidence found by the Mission demonstrates the opposite.

Although this delegation acknowledges the possible presence of illegal actors in the area, they emphasize that this does not justify the armed incursion that left the population in the middle of the fire, in addition to the human rights violations that they may suffer, in the statement, the Mission stated: “This extrajudicial execution against the population of El Remanso and neighboring communities participating in the bazaar, was also directed against human groups highly protected by international humanitarian law such as indigenous peoples, social leaders and minors, who were killed in the event, it should be noted that, these practices are of great concern to the Mission, taking into account that they are systematic and correspond to the same patterns of behavior already investigated at other times in the territory”.

Similarly, it was emphasized that this operation wanted to be presented by the Defence portfolio, as an action against legitimate targets, in turn, the Mission asked the Ministry of Defense and the National Government to rectify the claims made against the community, taking into account that, according to them, their dignity is seen in addition, indigenous peoples and the various communities that have been involved in this extermination demand the appropriate protection, marking it as a crime against humanity and considering the need for disciplinary measures to be taken against the military involved.

The Prosecutor's Office is also required to conduct investigations in an impartial manner and not seek to favor any of the parties involved, in addition to this, it is requested that the National Army not be present in the area, at the time when the testimonies are being collected, bearing in mind that this is assumed as a measure intimidating.

Similarly, the Mission explains that, since its peacebuilding, it seeks the international community to accompany this population and allows changes to be made in the humanitarian crisis they are experiencing, calling for the development of a Humanitarian Agreement that seeks to end violence against Afro-descendant and indigenous communities, in addition to eliminate all kinds of gaps that generate stigmatization against the inhabitants of their territories.

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