The Venezuelan authorities were willing to collaborate to locate those possible missing persons, and even the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, announced that they are working so that Mancuso himself goes to the field “in order to find the remains and deliver them to his relatives.”
Colombia began to plan the search for missing persons during the Colombian armed conflict possibly buried in Venezuelaafter the revelations of former paramilitary chief Salvatore Mancuso before the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP).
The Missing Persons Search Unit (UBPD) carried out “a first non-intrusive prospecting exercise” in the area of Juan Frío, in the department of Norte de Santander, on the border with Venezuela “to strengthen the diagnosis in the territory”.
It is a first step while continuing with “diplomatic management so that the development of the cross-border search is prompt and effective,” the UBPD reported in a statement.
The head of the United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), during his four unique hearings to determine the truth held at the end of last month, assured “that there were a series of Colombian dead buried on the Venezuelan side” as a result of their crimes in the department of North of Santander.
From the moment the announcement was made, the Venezuelan authorities were willing to collaborate to locate these possible graves, and even the Colombian president, Gustavo Petro, announced that they are working so that Mancuso himself goes to the ground “in order to find the remains and hand them over to their families.
During the regional summit of South American countries that was held last week in Brasilia, Petro signed an agreement with his Venezuelan counterpart, Nicolás Maduro, to speed up this search.
“With President Maduro we have reached an agreement to allow forensic experts, perhaps even with the arrival of Salvatore Mancuso in that region in order to find the remains and deliver them to his relatives,” Petro said.
Colombia will help identify the bodies and “the Venezuelan State would help us to return the remains and hand them over to their relatives,” the president pointed out.
This would contribute to boosting the search for missing persons, which the UBPD placed this year at more than 104,000, of whom almost 90,000 are still missing.
To date, the UBPD has managed to recover some 700 bodies, handed over to the Institute of Legal Medicine for identification and delivery to relatives.
With information from EFE
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