In the last hours of this July 17, troops of the National Army together with the Police of Norte de Santander carried out a forceful operation in the municipality of Tibú that left a great result.
The operations coordinated by Major General Omar Esteban Sepúlveda Carvajal they managed to neutralize who would be alias Roqueleader of the GAOr-E33 militias, who commits crimes in this area of Catatumbo.
Roque would be the fearsome dissident of the Farc behind the “patrolling” of armed hooded men in Tibú presented in recent days, which were seen by the Tibuyan population on July 3, 14 and 16.
In the most recent events that frightened the civilian population, heavily armed men were seen wearing military clothing with the acronym of the Farc-EP 33, covering their faces with balaclavas. They were quietly wandering around some places in this territory and, As if that were not enough, they reached the entrance of the Tibú City Hall, and from there They sent a strong message, arguing that they are the ones who impose the laws.
“A revolutionary greeting to all Colombians, especially to all Catatumberos. Today we are here, providing security to all Tibuyans. We are special urban combat forces, from the 33rd Front of the Farc-EP and we will continue to fight”, is heard to say by one of the armed men.
However, once once more a video circulated on social networks where men dressed in camouflage carrying the Colombian flag on their arms, Identifying themselves with members of the FARC dissidents, and with long-range weapons, they set up checkpoints to demonstrate their authority. They didn’t mind intimidating minors with guns.
This event occurred on Saturday, July 16. There, members of the 33rd front of the dissidents stopped every motorcycle, truck, car or any other vehicle that was moving through the place. Not only did the drivers and passengers have to give him a report of where and where they were going, but they were also searched.
They did this with the intention of demonstrating that it was they and not the State that exercised control over the territory. In fact, the entire day was recorded on videos that were later leaked to social networks.
In the video they recorded from the 33rd front, they wanted to show that they continue to rule in that region. “We are only three minutes from the urban center of Tibú. Providing security in the rural areas of this beautiful municipality. And we will continue with our patrols because our main intention is to keep the people of Catatumbero safe, since the State does not provide it,” said one of the men who hides his face with a balaclava and while carrying his rifle along with three other men.
In this situation, the authorities advanced an Extraordinary Security Council where several measures were determined to counter these acts that seek to intimidate the civilian population.
In this sense, it was decided to increase the force of all the troops of the Army, the Police and the National Air Force, which will have 24-hour availability to safeguard and patrol the urban and rural case of the municipality in question, with the aim of avoiding similar acts.
Thus, the National Army responded to this request and managed to neutralize alias Roque, who is also accused of participating in the launch of explosive devices once morest the facilities of the Tibú Military Canton, events that occurred on June 30 of this year. .