Saloa is the largest and main corregimento of the municipality of Chimamanch, department of Cesar.
Inhabited by humble and happy people and where the capacity of students flourishes, who stand out in the Tests to Know. Turning this environment into a land of poetry and song. In this beautiful population there is the particularity of mutual knowledge of all its inhabitants.
THE FACTS
Next, the knowledge of facts of which little is said:
It happened on August 14, 2002. It is necessary to contextualize how this population, a haven of peace, saw its tranquility and joy affected by a scourge that kept Colombia under terror and death. This flow of so many events where groups outside the law were protagonists, throw as results events that occurred in this corregimiento. That August 14, 2002, there was a experience of anguish and great expectation.
terror, tribulation it overwhelmed all the inhabitants who were awake. A horrible night as narrated by Gaviria, president of the JAC in 2002. The commander of the paramilitary group was named Chacón.
In the early hours of the morning, a tanker truck carrying gasoline arrived in Saloa. Its mission was to make the dispatch to an informally constituted gas station, since it did not meet the required requirements of the Ministry of Mines and Energy for its operation.
It was raining hard, and while the electrical installation was being done, the terminal had been uncovered to install the duct in the cistern or tankgasoline began to flow into the environmentsimultaneously made a short circuit.
THE POSSIBLE CAUSES OF THE FIRE
It is believed that the electrical installation He had some equipment on and when the spark arose, it caused the fire.
The conflagration was very pronounced and with the knowledge of the power of combustion caused a lot of fear in the people present in the informal service station facility. The terminal had been opened and its abundant flow made the emergency manifest. The driver got into the car and took it to where the CDI works today and left it abandoned there.
The rainwater was running down the streets, and because the condition that gasoline is an oil and is lighter than water does not mix, it stays on top of it, which served to transport the fire. Some homes and businesses were affected.
As an alarm, the bells rang San Vicente Ferrer church, which resulted in many people getting up and calling their neighbors and helping those affected.
Mr. Gaviria and Lascarro made their presence, and with a voice of authority, they demanded that he move it and take it out of townthe driver would stop and try to flee.
The people who lived this experience say that the driver tried to leave it next to the store ‘The Cachaco’ and there was a tank for propane gas pipes. But the harassment and pressure from these two heroes had an impact on the individual, who took him well away from the urban perimeter.
VARIOUS HYPOTHESES
A variety of concepts emerge from all this narration: some affirm that there was no malicious intent, except for a perverse purpose of pyromania. It all happened due to an accident caused in the aforementioned manner. That these are the speculations of a pusillanimous, fearful, scared and scandalous people, who turn everything into gossip.
The president of the JAC, narrated many hours later, that he had found out about this Machiavellian plan. And therefore he was waiting for the arrival of this tanker truck with the fuel. And he was preparing some families, which he could not make public knowledge of the matterbecause his life and that of his family were in danger.
They affirm that immediately at dawn in the following hours, Commander Chacón appeared in the town, enraged and backed by a group of his murderous companions, believing that the purpose of subduing the inhabitants of Saloa had already taken effect. But to his surprise, a large number of people armed with shotguns and machetes came out to meet him.
THE PEOPLE MANIFESTED
That day the inhabitants joined and said no more. Well, they had already murdered Rafael Rodriguez, Adalberto Arrieta, Alvaro Zuluaga, Donald Gomez Payares, Jairo Carranza Rabadan, and they stripped the farmers of their animals and the produce of their harvest.
Days later, on Sunday, there was a group of men from the town drinking liquor in the central booth and the commander and his men came up there and spoke to everyone, but in a cordial manner saying: guys, excuse me about the gasoline car. It was a mistake and not an accident. I want to give security to the people, how would it be possible for things to be done without problems? To which several spoke at the same time: Leave us out of the conflict and your plans, we don’t mess with you.
You have to take into account the naturalness of secret plans, by someone in the group the information is leaked. Thus, due to this human defect crack, it was learned that the driver was not a paramilitary, he was a driver by commercial profession, but he had been intervened and had received a sum of money to make the purpose of these homicides come true.
MANY FLED
This situation generated the displacement of inhabitants of Saloa towards other territories to safeguard their lives, this scourge at their side weakened the leadership of their caudillos due to constant threats, the National Army arrived to provide security to the population.
It is the reality of a town submerged in the abandonment of the municipal, governmental and national government.
BY ANDRÉS FELIPE CERVANTES/SPECIAL FOR EL PILÓN