President Gustavo Petro and Minister Iván Velásquez.
Photo: Presidency
This Thursday, President Gustavo Petro will travel to Popayán, where he will hold two key meetings for security in Cauca: a security council and a meeting with the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC). Three days ago, after the attack by the FARC dissidents on the Public Force and the community in the municipality of Morales, the president ordered the immediate transfer of the entire military leadership to this department.
“The situation in Cauca is unacceptable. We will not tolerate continuing to terrorize the population with terrorist attacks,” said the head of state after the attacks that left two soldiers dead. Congressmen such as the senator from the Historical Pact Gloria Flórez have alluded to the president’s decisions: “What is happening in territories like Cauca is inadmissible. Given this, Gustavo Petro’s order is to respond forcefully with the legitimate force of the State.”
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“I value the efforts of the National Government in moving towards Total Peace, but also that it responds with full force to those illegal armed groups that do not show the will for peace and attack civil society,” Flórez added.
The Ombudsman’s Office issued an early warning because it is “highly possible” that human rights violations will continue in the area due to the presence of armed groups. In particular, the consolidation of the Carlos Patiño Front, part of the Central General Staff, and the dissident known as Second Marquetalia, led by Iván Márquez, were mentioned. In addition, the alert warns about the possible reactivation of ELN factions in some towns in southern Cauca.
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The president’s visit to Cauca is also framed in the midst of the discussions he has had with former president Álvaro Uribe Vélez regarding issues of peace and actions of the Military Forces in recent days.
