At the end of the afternoon this Wednesday, Mayor Carlos Pinedo announced the results of the extraordinary Security Council, summoned today to attend to the civic strike carried out by residents of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
The objective of the strike was to demand that Gustavo Petro’s government continue the peace talks with the Conquering Self-Defense Forces.
The reason behind this demand, as mentioned by several leaders in the area, is that it is the civilian population who is being caught in the crossfire due to the confrontations of the Self-Defense Forces against the Public Force, and other groups with which they fight. disputes territorial control, such as the Clan del Golfo and the ELN.
In dialogue with Seguimiento.co, Mayor Carlos Pinedo, in fact, pointed out that there are Protestants’ intentions to maintain the blockade of the Caribbean Trunk, until the National Government responds to their requests.
However, this situation will not be tolerated by the district administration, which is why it was emphatic in explaining the next step.
“We are going to exhaust the avenues for dialogue, we are with them, with the good citizens who protest peacefully and without blockades. But, if the dialogue is exhausted and if the blockade continues, we will use the entire institutional apparatus to open the way,” said Pinedo Cuello.
It is important to mention that, due to the day, not only did businesses in the rural area close their doors, but trauma was also generated on the road, to the point that vehicle traffic towards La Guajira was paralyzed. Currently, the passage is enabled every hour, in the midst of a situation of tension and fear.
On the other hand, the Samarian president assured that the Petro government has been asked to respond to the community about the viability of continuing the dialogues that began 19 months ago.
“We have started negotiations with the National Government because it is the great concern of the community. What is that concern? : That of Total Peace, which President Petro has spoken about countless times. The reality is that there are frozen dialogues,” Mayor Pinedo insisted, reaffirming the need for attention to this situation by the office of the High Commissioner for Peace.
“The guidelines must come from the Central Government so that there is no confusion, as long as they are assured that we are going to use legal and constitutional mechanisms to restore public order. “This administration is prepared for that,” he pointed out.
