Rafael González continues to cling to life, since the explosion of a motorcycle bomb a few meters away from him on that central street in the urban area of Jamundí, knocked him down and left him on the ground defenseless and unable to move.
The explosive wave of that June 12 hit him head on, when he was in that block of the Bancolombia headquarters, where he took care of motorcycles in a commissioned position. Thus, when he is not watching, he seeks daily sustenance by selling sweets or digging up recyclable material in the streets of Jamundí, a municipality located in the south of Valle del Cauca.
Terrorist attack in Jamundí
Photo:Santiago Saldarriaga
Don Rafael arrived with one of his children more than a year ago to Jamundí, Coming from Venezuela, looking for a better future, walking until I had blisters on my feet and living almost on charity in cities in the interior of the country, in the middle of the cold or high temperatures until I reached Cali and then the neighboring municipality.
The foreigner, who left two other children in Venezuela, He remains in the intensive care unit of the Fundación Valle del Lili clinic, in Cali. He had to undergo numerous surgeries due to his critical condition.
The guard had second-degree burns on his face, neck and chest, and serious injuries to his chest and abdomen.
Attack in Jamundí.
Photo:Private file
He could not get up due to a fracture in one of his thighs, in addition to others in his upper limbs and exposed wounds in his abdomen, while a few meters away, three more passers-by were injured, although their condition was not as delicate as that of the motorcycle caretaker
Rafael Ángel González was referred to the Fundación Valle del Lili clinic, in Cali, because it is a highly complex care center.
Although in the Jamundí Mayor’s Office They had initially reported that Mr. González had died from the detonation, then they clarified that his condition was critical.
One of the medical reports from the Fundación Valle del Lili clinic reported that he required various surgeries for multiple traumas, one of them craniocerebral, in addition to damage to the face, thorax and abdomen with fractures in the right forearm, left hand, and leg. and the right side of the hip. He has also required blood transfusions and is on mechanical ventilation.
As for the injured police officers, according to authorities, they are out of danger. They were also taken to the Valle del Lili clinic. There, they reported that Chief Mayor Alexánder Meneses, 40, had a splinter wound on his scalp, less than a centimeter in size. He is stable.
The wounded patrolman is Maira Alejandra Sinisterra, who was driving the vehicle. She is 25 years old and, according to the clinic report, she had “involvement in the left side of the face, multiple splinter injuries in the left eye and blurred vision.” Currently, she is also stable and under observation.
In a humble home, his son, Ángel González, awaits him with markets and other donations that he has received from Samaritans in Jamundí, who were moved by the story of the 57-year-old man, for having been a victim of an alien and promoted war. by the dissidents of the ‘Jaime Martínez’ front, under the command of ‘Iván Mordisco’.
In videos in which Don Rafael’s son appears, he assures that his father is, although still, under a reserved prognosis.
“In different ways we have been asking the National Government for its support. We demand that President Gustavo Petro look towards Jamundí, because our citizens cannot continue in the middle of this absurd war that does not belong to us,” said the mayor of Jamundí Paola Castillo.
The governor of Valle, Dilian Francisca Toro, said, after a virtual security council with the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez: “We condemn this insane act that occurred today. First because we feel pain and we regret that people who get up to work every day today are affected and some are about to die from these terrorist acts.
He also said: “In addition, two police officers who are Valle del Cauca like us. We tell their families that we are very sorry for this and we are working hand in hand with the Army, the Police, the Prosecutor’s Office, and the mayors of Cali and Jamundí. No We can allow ourselves to be intimidated, we have to remain firm.
These are acts of retaliation to create uncertainty, anxiety and fear in the community, and we cannot let fear take over us. “That’s what all the forces of the institutions are for.”
“Although the Government has supported us, it has not supported us forcefully,” said Toro.
Currently, more than 100,000 more police officers and 100 Army Special Forces soldiers are already in Jamundí. In addition, there will be hours of Air Force flight to reinforce the security of the municipality.
The 100 police officers join another 100 who had arrived two months ago, who were the target of the May 20 attack with a motorcycle bomb, one block from the hostel where they were staying.
CAROLINA BOHÓRQUEZ
EL TIEMPO correspondent
