In a statement, the illegal group invited Colombians to “vote for the candidates who have shown themselves to confront the regime” and indicated that it will only respond if that the Armed Forces enter their territories
09/04/2020 Colombia.- Captured ‘Álvaro Boyaco’, a leader of the FARC dissidents accused of the death of social leaders. POLITICS SOUTH AMERICA COLOMBIA LATIN AMERICA INTERNATIONAL LOUIS WITTER/LE PICTORIUM/ZUMA PRESS/CONTACT
In the last few hours, through social networks, a statement has been circulating that apparently belongs to the FARC dissidents and in the that the illegal armed group announces a unilateral armed ceasefiredue to the presidential elections that will take place next Sunday, May 29. The country’s Armed Forces indicated that the document is being analyzed by police intelligence to establish its veracity.
The cessation of hostilities, according to the statement, began from the early this Wednesday, May 25th and will continue until June 6th. However, they warn that “defensive actions will only be taken in case military units enter our areas with the mission of attacking us”.
The reason why the dissidents of the extinct guerrilla would have made the decision to carry out a ceasefire would be the first round of the presidential elections, which will summon Colombians to the polls on May 29. In a first point, they pointed out that in the midst of the days of demonstrations of the National Strike, which lasted just over three months in 2021, “The Colombian people showed their decision to change… it was a clear message to the retrograde oligarchy of what a people tired of misery is capable of”.
They added that the dissidents who betrayed the peace agreement still have the conviction to continue looking for real solutions, which is why “we accompany all citizens in demonstrating at the polls, once again, that they are not they can stop us from longing for change”. Perhaps the most striking point of the statement is number three, in which they invite “all the Colombian people to vote for the candidates who have proven to confront the regime and who propose real and pragmatic substantial transformations”.
According to information from the military authorities, currently the largest FARC dissidents in the country are commanded by alias Iván Mordisco and Gentil Duarte, who is said to have been killed in the last few hours in Zulia state, Venezuela.
Government does not trust a unilateral ceasefire of FARC dissidents
Marta Lucía Ramírez, Foreign Minister of Colombia, gave a calm note on the second election day.
From the national government, one of the first officials to react to the dissenting statement was the vice president and chancellor Marta Lucía Ramírez, who insisted that the guerrillas who betrayed the peace agreement cannot be trusted. . She assured that Colombians cannot be manipulated with this truce , because they will not forget all the years of committing crimes by the armed group.
“They make offers pretending to show a gesture of generosity with the country, they want to be forgiven by the country with these gestures, when the true gesture of greatness with Colombia would be to leave drug trafficking aside, to leave all those corridors where drug trafficking has been increasing. drug trafficking through Venezuela”, said the public official.
She added that it is precisely the FARC dissidents that have strengthened drug trafficking in Catatumbo , Arauca and Venezuela, which he said was the main drug trafficking corridorand, therefore, what is causing security problems in both countries.
Ramírez ended his public statement demanding that “justice be more effective so that these people respond with all forcefulness of the case for so much damage they have done in Colombia for many years”.
Security in the middle of the elections
Despite the dissidents’ announcement, the Ministry of Defense announced the deployment of more than 280 thousand men of the Public Force to guarantee security in the next presidential elections. For example, for the department of Valle del Cauca, a request for an additional 3,827 men was announced to reinforce the Democracy Plan; Minister Molano pointed out that there will be “1,587 police officers and around 6,529 troops within the Metropolitan Police of Cali, in addition to 689 men from the National Navy and Marine Corps, in the case of Buenaventura.”
In Bogotá there will also be a special security device with the Police and Army in Sumapaz and Ciudad Bolívar to avoid affecting public order in the middle of election day. This will be guaranteed with more than 9,500 police officers in the 20 locations.