Defense Minister presides over Security Council in Arauca with military and police high commanders
At the end of a meeting held in the capital city of the department of Arauca, Defense Minister Diego Molano, announced the measures with which he intends to face the current situation of law and order in the department.
First, he announced the reinforcement of the number of units with 600 soldiers who will begin to arrive in less than 72 hours in the department, who will provide their services in the sectors of Puerto Nariño, Aguachica, Botalón and La Paz. This operation has the objective of increasing territorial control and providing guarantees of protection and tranquility to civilians, especially in these areas where there are alerts of forced displacement.
He in the same way announced the increase of rewards of up to 300 million pesos to those who provide information that leads to find and arrest alias Carlos or Pájaro and alias Pescado or alias Culebro, ringleaders of the criminal structures that allegedly committed the violent acts of the last days.
The rewards for alias Antonio Medina and alias Arturo ringleaders of the tenth and 28th fronts of the Farc dissidents, remain at 500 million pesos, according to the Defense Minister “they are the ones who commit crimes, the ones who have a criminal mind to carry out this type of operations that have struck law and order and tranquility.”
As a long-term measure, Molano in the same way reported that in the municipalities of Aguachica and La Esperanza two military facilities will be built, with the purpose of functioning as bases for territorial control and operations.
After the meeting where the military and police commanders participated, the maintenance of aerial surveillance over the entire border line by the Colombian Air Force was in the same way was announced, while patrols over the Arauca River will be reinforced by means of the boats of the Navy Infantry and the National Navy.
Meanwhile on the ground “300 men of the National Army, do work on the roads and highways of the department, carrying out 11 checkpoints, to ensure mobility and economic reactivation of this region of the country,” said the Minister of Defense.
THE EVENTS OCCURRED IN VENEZUELA
Minister Molano categorically rejected the violent events reported in previous days, which are a result of the confrontation between the criminal groups of the Farc dissidents and Eln, while revealing that 23 dead bodies were found in different municipalities of the department; these bodies correspond to an event that occurred on the other side of the border.
“This event that happens in Venezuelan territory, due to criminal business disputes, again demonstrates how criminal acts are committed on the other side of the border to then strike the life and tranquility of Colombians on this side of the border, that is to say in Arauca,” the Defense Minister said.
“The events took place specifically in the municipality La Victoria, in the state of Apure, in the site called Los Cañitos, where there has been a confrontation conducted by two of these irregular groups, the Eln allied with the second Marquetalia, against dissidents of the Farc, front 10 and front 28.”
In the same sense, the minister said that thanks to the reaction of the Attorney General's Office and the National Police in the urgent work of identifying the bodies, 15 have already been identified, finding that 4 were of Venezuelan nationality, and 2 of those people had a record of illegal possession of weapons.
“One of those identified is alias El Flaco Fredy, ringleader of the Farc dissidents, who had two arrest warrants, one for extortion and kidnapping and the other for illegal firearms trafficking,” Molano revealed.
Source: Defence Sector Communications Office – Ministry of National Defence
