Governors of more than a dozen of the 32 departments of Colombia They published, this Monday, March 20, on their social networks, the phrase ‘Freedom and Order’, that accompanied with the image of the country shield, given the problems that some regions have experienced in recent weeks.
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Roberto Jaramillo, Governor of Quindío and president of the National Federation of Departments (FND), assured that the leaders display “the National emblem” with “two beautiful words: freedom and order“.
“And we have asked the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro; the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada; the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, and our military leadership. We want to strengthen our Military Forces and the National Police to face all these episodes that are occurring in matters of public order in the country.“, said.
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He added that “Groups outside the law have to know that the Constitution is defended here”, which is why the governors insist on “a country with freedom but a country in order“.
The image and the message were published, among others, by the governors of the departments of Cundinamarca, Nicolás García; Antioquia, Anibal Gaviria; Valle del Cauca, Clara Luz Roldán; Atlantic, Elsa Noguera; Santander, Mauricio Aguilar; Córdoba, Orlando Benítez, and Bolívar, Vicente Blel.
The governors’ message comes after the president Petro failed, on Sunday, the bilateral ceasefire that had been in force since the beginning of 2023 with the ‘Gulf clan’, the largest criminal group in Colombia, after accusing that gang of attacking the Police and instigating the mining strike that has the northwest of the country in check.
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“As of this moment there is no ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo. The public force must act immediately against the structures of the mafia organization“Petro said on Sunday night, in a message on his Twitter account, after announcing that they were reactivating”all military operationsagainst that group.
The reason given is a “rifle attack on the available force of the Police by the ‘Gulf clan’“, but the Colombian government had spent the last few days blaming this group, heir to the paramilitary United Self-Defense Forces of Colombia (AUC), for instigating the mining strike in the Bajo Cauca area, a situation that affects Apart from the departments of Antioquia and Cordoba.
As part of these actions, four trucks and two public transport buses were set on fire on highways in the region on Sunday, according to the Antioquia governor.
In that sense, the National Federation of Departments He also supported the president’s decision to suspend the bilateral ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo.
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“Those who choose the path of war must receive the force of the State with full force.“, the FND said on Twitter.
EFE
