Among the dead is a minor and two important leaders of this territory of Puerto Leguízamo.
Putumayo News.
The death of 11 people in the rural area of Puerto Leguízamo has caused a stir among the community and human rights organizations that denounce a massacre, “provoked by the National Army” and that they want to pass off as a false positive.
The official Army report is that they killed 11 FARC dissidents.
From that department, on the other hand, he denounces that Wse tried to massacre a group of civilians.
Among the deceased is a married couple who were community leaders. A minor, and an indigenous governor.
The facts
The community was in a bazaar organized by the Junta de Acción Comunal, “when they arrived shooting indiscriminately.”
It happened on Monday the 28th at 7:15 am, in the Alto Remanso of the municipality of Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo. An area that is not easily accessible and far from the central hull.
“A group of hooded uniformed officers found out by shooting people,” they denounce.
Several people belonging to the surrounding villages were gathered in the place, they were holding a community festival to collect funds.
This new statement from social organizations in Putumayo sheds even more light on the massacre that took place in Putumayo, where the @COL_EJERCITO has everything to do with it. It is urgent that state and government authorities speak out. @DefensoriaCol, @FiscaliaCol, @PGN_COL, @IvanDuque. pic.twitter.com/DOjQOzJlIA
– Diana Sánchez Lara (@DianaDefensora) March 30, 2022
In the statement issued by the community, it is stated that a group of hooded uniformed officers found out by shooting at the people who were in the place.
Those affected by the shots were the community president and the governor of the Bajo Remanso council.
A witness states that because of the shooting that occurred, they were alerted and scared. “They all got up scared by the shooting.”
They say that a part of the community that was in the bazaar was transferred and detained in the sports center, accusing them of belonging to armed groups.
There were pregnant women and children. The men were made to remove their shirts.
While they were detained, the group of armed men would have entered the houses taking valuable belongings.
They would also have taken the collection that took three days, they say that they gathered around 200 and 300 million.
Confusion over the attack in Puerto Leguízamo
The community thought that the takeover of the place was a brawl between armed groups that were fighting over the area.
Due to the same fright, the inhabitants of the town, including mothers and children, considered moving to Ecuador.
In the midst of the scare that was being experienced, at noon it was felt that an Army helicopter arrived, which meant hope for the situation they were going through.
Having that voice of encouragement, all the families returned to their homes to wait for everything to calm down and for the people who were captured to return to their homes.
“Confident, we returned to our homes with our families because the Army arrived,” they explained.
The woman who recounted the events in an audio that was broadcast by INDEPAZ.
“It was not against innocent indigenous people, but narco-coca growers”: Ministry of Defense.
“We are hopeful, seeing that the army was the same one that carried out all that massacre, because that was a massacre carried out by our communities,” they ask that they be heard, so that the atrocious event does not go unpunished.
— . (@osadieg) March 30, 2022
The video revealed by the Defense Minister.
The Ministry of Defense released a video of the supposed operation that was not against peasants, but FARC dissidents.
“It was not against innocent indigenous people, but drug dealers. It was not in a bazaar, but against criminals who attacked soldiers,” said Diego Molano, through his Twitter account.
Óscar Daza Gutiérrez, Opiac Human Rights coordinator, told BLU Radio that the video revealed by the Minister of Defense does not correspond to the scene of the events.
According to the indigenous leader, the images do not show the people who died in the operation. That is to say, “the video that he revealed is not from the area.”
“Three days people drinking drinks, that should be full of containers. That does not appear in the video because it is a montage. The video does not correspond at all to the activity that was being carried out there,” they explain.
.@COL_EJERCITO reports: operation was not against peasants, but FARC dissidents. It was not against innocent indigenous people, but drug dealers. It was not in a bazaar, but against criminals who attacked soldiers. We defend Colombians. #PetroEmbustero which side is he on? #LegitimateOperation https://t.co/TSHk0j4Qhx pic.twitter.com/tWFDCnbmvO
– Diego Molano Aponte (@Diego_Molano) March 30, 2022
This would be the 28th massacre so far this year in the country.
Photos: Leadership and Peace Foundation.
