BOGOTÁ (AP) — Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Sunday suspended the bilateral ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo, considered the most dangerous drug cartel in the country, and ordered the reactivation of military operations against it.
The bilateral truce began on January 1 and was expected to last until June 30 of this year as a gesture of will towards the armed group in order to advance approaches towards submission to justice.
“We will not allow them to continue sowing anxiety and terror in the communities,” Petro said in a Twitter message.
The Clan del Golfo, which in addition to drug trafficking is involved in illegal mining, has been accused by the government of putting pressure on hundreds of informal miners who are holding a protest since March 2 in the northwest of Colombia to demand labor guarantees and the cessation of the actions of the public force in the destruction of machinery used in illegal mining.
On Sunday, six vehicles that blocked the highways were set on fire and a military patrol was attacked with a rifle, events that Defense Minister Iván Velásquez attributed to the Clan del Golfo.
Velásquez assured in an official statement that more than 10,000 police and army troops were deployed with the activation of the offensive against the Clan del Golfo and warned that they will increase the military presence if necessary.
The Commander General of the Military Forces, Helder Giraldo, added that they will carry out offensive operations to “achieve neutralize the intentions of this armed group against the civilian population,” while the police will mobilize special groups in the area.
The miners’ protest, which has been going on for more than two weeks, has led to some acts of violence, including the burning of two ambulances and a road toll, as well as the blockade of roads that has caused a shortage of food and medicine. in more than 12 towns in Bajo Cauca and northeastern Antioquia.
The Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, emphasized that the government will not tolerate “actions that generate shortages” because there are already “hungry” populations in the territory. He also invited the mining leaders to seek consensus, hold a mining assembly in the area and a national summit for the construction of a new mining code.
Petro warned on Monday in a government program that the Clan del Golfo “was not able to take the step towards a collective submission to justice” because “it seems to give more priority to its illegal businesses”, for which, for the moment, he sees no possibility of negotiation. until the “political will” is evidenced.
With its “total peace” policy, the government has proposed to reduce violence in the country through peace talks with multiple armed groups or proposals to bring them to justice. So far, he has managed to restart a dialogue table with the guerrilla National Liberation Army (ELN) and announced the start of another process with the Central General Staff, a faction of dissidents of the extinct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla. that did not accept the peace agreement signed in 2016 with the State.
