Colombia: Military Disguised as Guerrillas Intimidate a Town in Córdoba

The Colombian Army will open a disciplinary investigation against soldiers who, armed and disguised as dissidents from the former FARC guerrilla, intimidated the inhabitants of a hamlet in the Caribbean department of Córdoba, something that the Government described as "extremely serious" and has caused indignation in the country.

The incident occurred last Sunday when, as seen in videos published on social networks, the men, who covered their faces with hoods, intimidated the community of Bocas de Manso, in the municipality of Tierralta, after which "an order was the displacement of a military unit to provide security to the inhabitants of this sector," the Army detailed in a statement.

"In the same way , the competent authorities were notified and the corresponding disciplinary investigation will be initiated ," added the Army, which added that "it rejects this type of behavior, which is clearly incorrect and does not represent the principles and values taught in the training schools of the National Army".

In the videos you can see the community, in which there are people even with children in their arms, arguing with the armed men and asking them to identify themselves , something they do not do in the middle of a strong discussion.

In that sense, the Army detailed that "once the troops were present on the ground, it was evident that possibly soldiers from the Infantry Battalion N.33 'Batalla de Junín', of the Eleventh Brigade, would be immersed in a possible act of "violence against the civilian population and subjects of special constitutional protection."

For this reason, an inspection commission was sent to the area "verifying the processes and procedures carried out by the military unit," the information added.

Precisely, Senator Ariel Ávila, of the Green Alliance party, assured that only the Gulf Clan, the main criminal gang in the country, operates in the area where the events occurred.

" The alleged presence of dissidents is unlikely , unless there is a pact with the Clan, which is unlikely. The other option is impersonation, which would be terrible," Ávila wrote on his social networks.

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Investigations and outrage

The Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, assured that what happened "is extremely serious and requires the adoption of drastic decisions." "No tolerance with behaviors that not only affect the communities but the Military Forces themselves," added the minister on X (formerly Twitter).

The Minister of the Interior, Luis Fernando Velasco, appreciated that an investigation had been ordered "immediately" and the Army inspector had been sent to the area "to clarify this situation and take disciplinary corrective measures if necessary."

Meanwhile, the attorney general for the Defense of Human Rights, Javier Sarmiento, sent a letter to the governor of Córdoba, Orlando Benítez, who convened a security council. "I have convened an expanded extraordinary security council (…) in the departmental Police command, in order to learn more details of the events that occurred in the Bocas del Manso village, Tierralta-Córdoba Jurisdiction," Benítez responded in X.

Meanwhile, former president Álvaro Uribe, who governed Colombia between 2002 and 2010, assured in X that "the authorities must clarify whether the intimidating action against the community in Tierralta, Córdoba, was carried out by the FARC dissidents or Public force".