Private Cristian Murillo, Private José Arcadio Epiayu Urania, Private Carlos Andrés Ocoró Mejía, kidnapped in Cauca by residual GAO
The Command of the Joint Task Force for Stabilization and Consolidation Hercules, a unit of the Military Forces, informs:
1. According to the first preliminary information provided, last Sunday, January 15, 2023, the soldiers Carlos Andrés Ocoró Mejía, Cristian Murillo Murillo and José Arcadio Epiayu Urania, of the Rapid Deployment Force No.2 and the Pegaso Stabilization and Consolidation Operational Command, were kidnapped.
2. The soldiers, who were in a day off, were traveling in a collective passenger transport vehicle, on the alternative route to the Pan-American Highway that connects the municipalities of El Tambo and Patía, in the department of Cauca.
3. Individuals in civilian clothes who carried firearms, identified themselves as members of the residual Carlos Patiño Organized Armed Group, stopped the vehicle in which they were traveling and kidnapped the Soldiers.
4. Once the event became known, in coordination with authorities in the region, the search operation was activated. In the same way, the internal protocols established to provide support for this type of situation were initiated.
5. The General Command of the Military Forces rejects these facts, which will be formally denounced before the authorities, taking into account that this criminal action is a flagrant violation of human rights and infringement of international humanitarian law.
6. Through this Command, respect for the lives of the military and their prompt release is demanded so that they can return their homes.
