The Twitter thread of the leader of the National Liberation Army (ELN), Antonio García, has caused enormous rejection on social networks after he responded to an opinion column by renowned journalist María Alejandra Villamizar.
In his column titled “No one is eternal in the world,” Villamizar questioned the reasons why peace has not been achieved with this guerrilla.
In his response, García lashed out at Villamizar, stating that “Vicky Dávila went to his head.” García justified the violent actions of the ELN, affirming that the military have also beaten them, and that “puño y pisto is not a fight.”
“@MariaAlejaVM says that «nobody is eternal in the world», referring to the ELN. She responded with the same song by her favorite singer Darío Gómez: “You will suffer, you will cry while you get used to losing, then you will resign yourself when you no longer see me,” García wrote.
The ELN leader’s threats to journalists publicly have generated strong condemnation on social media and in the Colombian journalistic community. Vicky Dávila, director of Semana magazine, responded forcefully to García’s threats, accusing him of being a criminal and reminding him that they are the ones outside the law.
Minutes later, Antonio García’s Twitter account was suspended.
President Petro spoke out about the incident, defending press freedom as one of the pillars of democracy and rejecting the threatening messages against Villamizar and Dávila. He asked the authorities to guarantee the integrity of the journalists.