The president of the Republic, Iván Duque, assured that insisting on the proposal of an eventual dialoguesubmission to justice to the members of the ELN guerrilla and the ‘Clan del Golfo’, could ‘open a gap’ that would end up weakening the institutional framework in Colombia and that it would only favor the most dangerous criminals in the country.
In dialogue with RCN Worldthe president pointed out that, “These are not groups that have any kind of political connotation, they are criminals, drug traffickers of the worst kind, murderers of social leaders, kidnappers, rapists of children. Of course we are talking about cartels that today may have more power than ‘Los Zetas’, ‘La Familia’ or the ‘Sinaloa Cartel’, a particular case of what was the command structure of the ‘Gulf Clan’”.
Also read: Soldiers who were kidnapped by the extinct FARC complain to the JEP
Likewise, maintained that the country cannot forget that the experiences of subjugation of armed groups with justice are not good in the history of Colombia, as happened with the late drug trafficker Pablo Escobar “who managed to have a custom-made prison (The Cathedral) built for him, in which he enjoyed all kinds of benefits,” and even escaped and flouted justice.
“Just look at what happened in the 90s with Decrees 2047 – 3030, which was sold as a great panacea, as a great pacification and it was the mafiosi who set the conditions, they chose prisons, they chose their guard, turning the prisons into five-star hotels, They were there for four or five years and then they went out to continue committing crimes,” said Duque.
You may be interested in: Crude testimonies of minors recruited by the ELN and the former FARC
Said a criminal cannot impose the conditions to define how he submits to justice and whether or not there is a reduction in sentences. On the contrary, it is an issue that requires a discussion at the highest level in terms of very strong criminal policy, because a space cannot be opened to mitigate these criminal behaviors.
