GOVERNOR of Tolima, Ricardo Orozco, warned that the department has received various threats from Farc dissidents, a situation for which he requested more forcefulness from the public force to avoid a setback in security.
The Governor told EL NUEVO SIGLO that extortion and restrictions on political activity are already taking place in Tolima. Likewise, he maintained that this situation is not an issue that corresponds only to the department, but to the country in general.
How is the security in your apartment?
It is important to highlight that today the country is experiencing public order problems, it is not just a matter for the department of Tolima, departments such as the Putumayo, Caquetá, Meta and Huila have major security problems due to the advance of the FARC dissidents in search of consolidating in the territories, to retake the old FARC corridors, to return to extortion, to the militiamen in the municipalities and corregimientos. Logically, this deteriorates public order, I think it is important that the Government take stock and give support to the President’s delegates, who are the governors, to work in coordination with the public force, to enforce the arrest warrants. It is not a matter of the governor of Tolima, it is a matter of the country.
What warning did they receive?
We received an official document from the public force in which they presented intelligence reports that opened up the possibility of affecting public order and, obviously, institutionality in this area of the department, both for the Governor of Huila and Tolima as well as for soldiers. and policemen who were there. They recommended us not to attend and to send our delegates, indeed this was done, neither the governor of Huila nor the governor of Tolima attended. The entire operation was carried out with the police and the event was carried out. There is still a bad taste about this, because this happened 25 or 30 years ago when governors and mayors could not go to the territory. We had recovered that tranquility in Colombia and today the fear of going backwards in the security of the country is felt.
What area is in which the disturbances would be committed?
It is an area where nothing has happened in recent years, but which I have monitored because it has a territorial connection with San Vicente del Caguan, it starts in San Vicente del Caguan, passes through all of Meta, enters Sumapaz, where the governor of Cundinamarca, Nicolás García and the mayoress of Bogotá, Claudia López, have expressed their nonconformity due to the presence of the so-called dissidences and the corridor ends here in the East of the department of Tolima and Huila in municipalities such as Baraya in Huila, Alpujarra, Villarrica in the department of Tolima and that they were the corridors of the Farc 20 and 25 years ago.
What is happening in rural areas?
What is happening in the rural area corresponds to the militiamen, the extortion charge from the merchants, pamphlets like the one in San Antonio where they say which candidates from parties like the Conservative party, the U party, and the Democratic Center cannot attend That worries us, because very surely if the necessary decisions are not made and if our Constitution is not enforced, freedom and order in this country, as President Gustavo Petro said, which is what makes me a little Tranquility is that it supports the public force, do not find it strange that in the coming months we will see illegal checkpoints as happened 30 years ago and takeovers of police stations.
Do you think security is going backwards?
We are going backwards on security issues and we must take action on the matter, I think we must return to the operations, the intelligence processes, the captures and dismantle all these groups. Let them feel the rigor and weight of the Colombian State.
Have you spoken to the commander in Tolima?
Two or three months ago when we wanted to offer rewards to capture some bandits from the dissidents of the South of Tolima, but they did not see the feasibility of doing so due to the decrees that the President had issued for the ‘Total Peace’ process, logically with the order not to allow any military action against these groups due to the peace process and the bilateral ceasefire.
Since the bilateral cessation has already been broken, well, these people are murdering and extorting money; It is time for the Army once again, in coordination with the Commander of the Military Forces and the governors, to resume the entire operational part of our Public Force against these bandits.
How do you see the outlook for the elections?
It is time to make decisions, I think that in departments like Caquetá and Meta there is a presence of dissidents. There are municipalities that in order to enter to vote you have to present your card, this is where we have to act quickly, we have time to retake control of several territories and to guarantee Colombians a peaceful electoral process, as it has been during the last 20 years.