This Friday, the rancher and farmer, Jesús Quintero, was the new victim of the kidnapping in the municipality of Pelaya, Cesar, who was subdued by hooded individuals on his property, located in the Caño Sucio village, and they took him away in his own vehicle, which was abandoned.
The information was confirmed by the Secretary of Government of Cesar, Eduardo Esquivel, who stated that the public order situation, which has been occurring in the municipality of Pelaya, worries the authorities and public forces, for which reason they are coordinating with the mayor the implementation of security actions that allow restoring peace of mind to the inhabitants of the jurisdiction.
He reiterated that the rancher, affectionately known as ‘Churo Ballena’, was kidnapped by five men, who subdued him and took him away. Farm workers were the ones who notified the authorities about the plagiarism.
This is the second kidnapping that has been recorded in the municipality, since last Thursday armed individuals took the merchant Maira Beltrán while she was exercising with her husband and some friends. For this case, the authorities agreed in the Extraordinary Security Council, a reward of up to 50 million pesos for information that allows to find the location of this person.
It was agreed to reinforce security with the presence of 15 men from the Police and the Army, to maintain the Padlock Plan towards Catatumbo, and thus avoid the transfer of the two kidnapped persons to another department.
Alexander Quintero, mayor of the municipality of Pelaya, reported that the new kidnapping occurred just two kilometers from the town center, a situation that sets off the authorities’ alarms due to the insecurity that is reigning in the area. It is unknown which groups would have kidnapped these two people.
“Until April, public order was controlled in the municipality, but from May to date there have been five homicides and these two kidnappings, in addition to robberies and extortion of ranchers and merchants,” said the mayor.
Faced with this situation, security councils have been held and the national authorities have been asked to increase the foot of force. This situation is unfortunate, there is a lot of fear among the community and we must prevent the scourge of kidnapping from continuing to grow. “The call is to the departmental and national governments to manage their efforts to guarantee peace and tranquility to the population,” he said.