The Ombudsman’s Office expressed its concern about the scenario of anxiety that the inhabitants of the department of Arauca continue to suffer, since armed groups outside the law do not stop the practice of kidnapping, this year they have deprived 20 people of their freedom.
“Currently, in Arauca we register 43 kidnappings, 34 of those people remained in the power of illegal armed groups at the end of last year. He means that nine of them are records from this year and continue in the hands of illegal armed structures. Added to this report are another 11 that were plagiarized, but whose release occurred later,” says the Ombudsman, Carlos Camargo Assis.
It is important to note that the cases presented correspond to information collected by the Ombudsman’s Office, however, there is under-recording due to the lack of reporting or making the facts known to the authorities due to the fear felt by the families of the victims of the scourge. for possible reprisals from the captors.
Panorama of kidnappings
The Ombudsman’s Office was aware of 44 cases of people kidnapped at the end of 2023 and who were allegedly in the power of the ELN guerrilla or in areas of great influence of that illegal armed group.
According to the information reported by the field teams of the human rights entity, 34 of the cases were in Arauca; followed by Cauca, with four; Nariño, with three, and Norte de Santander, with one. Ocaña also reported a case, of which there is no certainty about the illegal armed group. In Risaralda, a case of one person was registered, who was later released.
So far this year, the Ombudsman’s Office has been aware of 23 releases. That is, in Arauca 11 people were released; in Ocaña, five; in Nariño, three; in Cauca, two; in Norte de Santander, one, and in Magdalena Medio, one. Likewise, he learned of a person who died in captivity.
“It is important to clarify that many of the releases are related to detentions registered during 2024, in other words, people who were reported as kidnapped and released later,” says Camargo Assis.
The Ombudsman’s Office insists on the request for freedom for all those kidnapped and reiterates the availability of its humanitarian channels and its institutional capacity throughout Colombia to contribute to the return to their homes of those who are in the power of illegal armed groups.
Source: Ombudsman’s Office