In the midst of the controversy over the events that occurred in Los Pozos, Caquetá, the president, Gustavo Petro, assured on his official Twitter account that he will assume responsibility for what happened and will defend Colonel Javier Antonio Castro, who has an arrest warrant for alleged omission in the protest where 78 uniformed officers were detained.
Petro declared that as Commander-in-Chief of the Military Forces, he is solely responsible for the actions in Los Pozos and that his government will not tolerate the violation of human rights, at the same time that he defended the orders given to Colonel Castro not to attack the civilian population.
The Colombian president also announced that he will hire the best international lawyers in defense of human rights to defend police officers who defend human rights in Colombia, and rejected any type of judicial pressure that seeks to justify violence against children or protesters.
“I do not want judges who pressure children to be bombed, to make false positives, or to massacre protesters. My troops will never bomb children. I answer before the military judge who judges my police chief in Caquetá for my orders not to kill the civilian population”, said Gustavo Petro.
Minister Prada responds
The Colombian Minister of the Interior, Alfonso Prada, clarified in a recent press conference that he was not kidnapped in the events that occurred in Los Pozos, Caquetá, where 78 uniformed officers were held. These statements were made in response to statements made by the Director of Police, Henry Sanabria, who had mentioned a “swap” involving the minister and the kidnapped police officers.
Prada explained its role in the events was to mediate to achieve a peaceful solution and that there was no type of exchange as previously suggested.