The Pan-American highway that connects the departments of Risaralda and Chocó was reopened after several hours of closure. The blockade was recorded near the municipality of Tadó, where armed men from the ELN allegedly forced a driver to get out of his vehicle, took his keys and crossed the car on the road.
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The authorities arrived at the scene, who carried out the security verification, ruled out the presence of explosives and removed the vehicle, which allowed traffic to be restored in this road corridor.
Dispatch of public service buses resumes
The manager of the Pereira Transport Terminal, Héctor Fabio Artunduaga, reported that once the risks were ruled out, bus dispatches to the department of Chocó resumed.
“The road was closed after a truck was crossed, presumably with explosives, after taking the keys from its driver. Due to this situation, the dispatches of the 16 daily buses that cover the route to Chocó were temporarily suspended and only vehicles were authorized to leave until the town of Santa Cecilia,” indicated the manager of the land terminal.
No threat of explosives
Héctor Fabio Artunduaga indicated that despite the alert, they did not find explosives in the vehicle: “The authorities confirmed that the vehicle did not have explosives, so it was removed from the road. Once the situation was overcome, dispatches were restored and the dispatch of buses to the city of Quibdó was resumed,” he said.
He added that despite the student vacation season, a constant flow of travelers is maintained, with the daily dispatch of about 16 buses and the mobilization of more than 500 passengers.
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Communities lifted indefinite strike
Also, the Greater Community Council of the Pan American Union, which was carrying out a blockade on the roads that connect Chocó with Risaralda and Antioquia, decided to lift its activity at least until mid-January, when they hope to have a meeting with the National Government. This was indicated by Arnold Quintero, president of this community council.
Source: Integrated Information System
