At least 100 vehicles, between cplanes, buses and motorcycles, have resulted “affected” for him armed strike ordered on Thursday, Thursday, May 5 by the Gulf clan in retaliation for the extradition to the US of its top boss, Dairo Antonio Usuga, alias Otoniel, actions that have also caused anxiety among the population.
In the so-called armed strikes, like the one that will end next Tuesday, May 10, the criminal groups usually restrict trade, the movement of vehicles on roads and the mobility of people, threatening with attacks those who travel on the roads, even if they go in caravans escorted by the Army.
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The Minister of the Interior, Daniel Palaces, said at the end of a security council held in Montería, capital of the department of Córdoba, one of the injured, that between Thursday and part of this Friday occurred “113 facts” left “100 vehicles“affected, many of whom were cremated.
Also on the council were the Defense Minister, Diego Molano, and commanders of the Army and the Police, as well as the governors of Sucre, Córdoba and Bolívar, which together with Antioquia and Atlántico are the departments most affected by the actions of the criminal group.
Due to threats from the Gulf clan, merchants from several cities in those four departments decided to close their businesses and classes were suspended in several of them, as was the case at the University of Córdoba.
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The Executive President of the Colombian Federation of Road Freight Transporters (Colfecar), Nidia Hernández, told journalists that the armed strike has left them losses of more than 13,000 million pesos (about 3.2 million dollars) for actions committed in Antioquia, Bolívar, Córdoba, Sucre, Cesar and Atlántico.
He explained that this is the approximate value of 32 vehicles, including trucks and tractor-trailers, incinerated on the highways of those departments and clarified that this amount does not include the value of the cargo they were transporting.
In addition to the security council in Montería, Molano and Palacios traveled to Antioquia to take measures for this part of the country because, on Thursday, May 5, 18 vehicles and six motorcycles were burned there.
Bus burned in Antioquia.
RESPECT FOR THE LIFE
Regarding this situation, the Mission to Support the Peace Process of the Organization of American States (Mapp/OEA) expressed its concern about the affectation of the population and called for respect for people, their lives and their property.
“We observe with great concern the effects on communities and alterations to public order in various regions of Colombia“, expressed the organism and made a call to the armed group”to respect population, rights and public-private goods“.
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“We urge the State to accelerate actions to deactivate violence and reinforce protection“, MAPP / OAS said on Twitter.
In the same sense, it was stated Juan Pappier, senior researcher for the Americas at Human Rights Watch and who demanded on social networks that they “respect the civilian population.”
“We are concerned about the armed strike imposed by the AGC (Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, as the Clan del Golfo is also known) in at least six departments of Colombia“, he expressed and added that, “once again, the government’s security policy fails“.
“They insist on a wrong policy. The cost is paid by the communities“He said in his criticism of the executive chaired by Iván Duque.
SEARCH BLOCK
To deal with the armed strike, the Colombian government announced measures, including the creation of a search block whose purpose is to combat this criminal group, which is mainly in the Caribbean and Chocó, according to Minister Molano.
On the other hand, the governors of Córdoba, Bolívar and Sucre signed a declaration in which they support President Duque, who extradited alias Otoniel.
“We reject the de facto ways and violent actions, which not only threaten the lives of innocent people, but also affect vehicles, goods, forms of work and infrastructure through which the effort and progress of all Colombians move.“, emphasizes the document.
Úsuga, who was extradited on Wednesday, May 4, has already declared not guilty before a federal judge in New York who accuses him, among other crimes, of “lead an ongoing criminal enterprise” between the year 2003 and October 2021, when he was captured, and of “participating in an international conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, knowing and intending that the drugs would be illegally imported into the United States“.
EFE
