Given the difficult situation that social leaders are experiencing in the department of Cauca, the President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, traveled this Wednesday to that region of the country to advance a meeting in “defense of life”.
The Colombian president arrived in the company of the Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, to announce special protection measures for human rights representatives and social leaders who may see their integrity threatened.
However, the absence of Vice President Francia Márquez caught the attention of the attendees, since she was born in this department, in the municipality of Suárez.
Given the concern of the attendees, President Petro came out to clarify that the non-presence of the vice president is due to a regulatory inconvenience.
“France is not here because there is a stupid decree, or not so stupid, that says that the president and the vice president cannot be in the same place, because they can kill both of them, then it is a papayazo”, explained the head of state.
The president acknowledged that this is a “real risk”, but immediately launched a statement that immediately sparked controversy and revived the rumors that have been generated regarding a possible estrangement between Petro and Márquez.
“If she is not with us, she can be very marginalized, then her leadership is evaporating and that was not what we promised in the campaign,” pointed out the head of state. And then he issued a harsh statement: “we will have to take the risks.”
Beyond this controversial statement, during his visit to Cauca Petro found a bleak picture.
According to the Institute of Studies for Development and Peace (Indepaz), so far this year 137 social leaders have been assassinated, and since the signing of the peace agreement between the Government and the FARC, the figure rises to 1,364 .
Several days ago, in Santander de Quilichao, Cauca, a man recognized for his work in favor of human rights and his escort were murdered.
The case is due to the social leader Edinson Murillo Arata, who was a member of the Zanjón de Garrapatero Community Council, and Yeinfer Medina, the man who gave him protection. Armed subjects intercepted them and shot them with firearms repeatedly until they died, when they were traveling on a motorcycle through the Tamiango de Santander de Quilichao village.
Indepaz has recalled several times that in northern Cauca there is a presence of the Dagoberto Ramos and Jaime Martínez dissidents of the Farc and the National Liberation Army (ELN).
“The Ombudsman’s Office has issued Alerts 048/19 and 019/22 for the municipality of Santander de Quilichao in which it indicates that the threats and attacks are a sign of the intention to silence collective demands that represent leaders of peasant, indigenous, Afro-descendant organizations and signatories in the reincorporation process,” added the institute.
During his visit to that region of the country, Petro toured the municipalities of Caldono and Santander de Quilichao, areas historically hit by a deep wave of violence.
In addition, he held meetings with members of the indigenous minga of the department of Cauca and the community councils of that region of the country, to listen first-hand to security and development concerns.
