Once again, violence rages against peace signatories in Cauca. One of them was murdered, being the second case in less than a week, in that department.
The recent event occurred this Tuesday, June 25. The victim, identified as Esteban Guzmán Castro, had been kidnapped hours before by armed men in the village of El Carmen, in the municipality of Buenos Aires, in northern Cauca.
His body appeared on the Catoto path on the road that leads from Suárez to Timba. Leonardo González, coordinator of the Institute for Development and Peace (Indepaz) noted that “Guzmán Castro advanced his reincorporation process in La Elvira, municipality of Buenos Aires in Cauca.”
The Ombudsman’s Office issued early alert 036/23 for the municipalities of northern Cauca in the case of Buenos Aires, in addition to early alerts 019/20, 019/22, revealing the risk scenario that is due to the potential occurrence of serious damage to the civilian population and civilian property, due to actions of the Jaime Martínez front of the Western Block of the self-proclaimed ‘EMC’.
Added to this is the murder that occurred hours before of the signatory Jhon Edison Ipia and another person, in the municipality of Jambaló.
“The two bodies were found, one of them that of a peace signer and the other apparently that of a collaborator of an armed group. The accurate version is unknown because the bodies were removed by an illegal structure to prevent inspections from being carried out,” said senior indigenous councilor Yesid Conda.
The demobilized man was allegedly murdered in the early hours of June 21, when heavily armed men broke into his home and shot him repeatedly.
Indepaz confirmed that so far in 2024 there are already 14 signatories murdered in the country, five of them in Cauca.
The ELN is present in the area, in addition to the ‘Dagoberto Ramos’ and ‘Jaime Martínez’ fronts, of the ‘Western Bloc’ of the ‘Central General Staff’ of the FARC dissidents. However, those responsible and the motives for the crime are yet to be established.
MICHEL ROMOLEROUX
Special for EL TIEMPO
Popayan
