10 thousand members of the Military Forces, eight thousand of the National Army and two thousand of the National Police were sent.
President Gustavo Petro is not scheduled to travel to meet with the miners, until there is absolute normalization of law and order in that region.
“We are in a much better situation than last week, little by little, normality has been recovering. The supply of food, gas, medicines, is already practically normalized, because several caravans that have traveled from Medellín, Yarumal, and in the same way from the south of Córdoba to Caucasia, Tarazá, and Cáceres, have been very successful.”
This was stated by the Minister of National Defense, Iván Velásquez, in an interview on Colombia Hoy Radio, a program of the Presidency of the Republic, about the operations of the Military Forces to maintain order in the north and northeast of Antioquia, Bajo Cauca antioqueño and south of the department of Córdoba.
In that sense, the minister said that there have been numerous trucks that have moved, guarded by Military Forces: “There is a greater tranquility in the same way in the municipalities and in the urban centers, and trade in some parts has been fully restored, in others it is still somewhat intermittent, but I think that, as far as this movement is being seen, the confidence of the inhabitants and merchants is recovering”
According to intelligence information of the National Police, Minister Velásquez said, it is evident that the GAO Clan del Golfo would be behind the outrages, “It is the one that has pressured to carry out blockades and violent operations. It is behind the burning of the vehicles (...). Despite all the demonstrations they have made to show themselves far in the statements they issue, the reality is that, they have continued to be active, they promote demonstrations of violence and generate pressure on the inhabitants to go out to protest.”
As for the confinement caused by the protest, the head of the Defense said that it has in the same way been overcome, however, what happens is that the inhabitants are frightened by demonstrations that are clearly be directed by Clan del Golfo, and because of that, due to prudence, people have not travel.
In addition, Velásquez insisted that it is false that President Gustavo Petro would travel to the region to hold a meeting with the miners, since it has not been scheduled. “The President himself affirmed that a requirement to resume the talks is the absolute normalization of activities in these municipalities: that business can operate without any limitations, that there are no risks of new blockades, that there are no demonstrations of force.”
Finally, the Minister of Defense informed that tomorrow, Thursday, March 16, he will travel to Cúcuta to review the security situation in Norte de Santander, since it has had “some worrying manifestations of violence.”
Source: Strategic Communications - Ministry of National Defense
