Colombian President Gustavo Petro visited this Wednesday the Bogotá hospital where most of the 27 soldiers wounded in the attack by the National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas against a military base in Puerto Jordán, in the department of Arauca (east), are located, which also left two soldiers dead.
Petro was transferred to the Central Military Hospital where 18 wounded soldiers are receiving care, of which, according to the institution’s latest bulletin, thirteen are in “stable condition,” Most of them had “soft tissue injuries, receiving interdisciplinary care according to the procedure for care for combat wounded.”
Five other injured people are in intensive care, “receiving specialized care, postoperatively for orthopedic, chest and abdominal injuries,” and their prognosis depends on their progress.
The commander of the Military Forces, Admiral Francisco Cubides, assured in the hospital that “They are already in positive evolution so that they will soon be in a condition to return to service.“, and that the transfer of the rest of those injured in the attack is expected.
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The ELN guerrilla attacked with explosives on Tuesday the military base in Puerto Jordán, in the department of Arauca (east), which left two soldiers dead and 27 wounded.
Petro visits wounded soldiers in Arauca
Presidency of Colombia
“This is a clear demonstration by the ELN of what its true intention is. While we were waiting for a gesture that would allow the peace negotiations to continue, this was their response.“Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez said today of the attack.
This after Petro himself assured yesterday that the attack “It is an action that closes a peace process with blood“, but has not clarified further whether this means the end of negotiations with the guerrillas, which were resumed in November 2022 in Caracas and have been frozen for more than half a year due to clashes between the delegations.
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The guerrillas are demanding that the Executive remove them from the list of terrorist groups and abandon regional dialogues such as the one held in the department of Nariño (southwest) with Comuneros del Sur, supposedly a split-off from the ELN.
Gustavo Petro
Presidency of Colombia
During the various rounds of negotiations in Caracas, Havana and Mexico City, several partial agreements were reached in a year and a half. a one-year bilateral ceasefire, the longest ever agreed with the guerrilla group, which ended on August 3.
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Following the end of the ceasefire, the ELN resumed its attacks against public forces and infrastructure in different parts of the country, especially in Arauca, where it is particularly strong.
EFE
