ALERT: In Colombia, the EMC guerrilla pleads “an error” after the attack which killed 21 civilians
New information reveals that the following story has emerged from the international scene.
The Colombian guerrilla of the EMC recognized on Wednesday April 29 its responsibility in the bomb attack which killed 21 civilians on Saturday but pleads an “error”, while the presidents of the Colombian left and the Ecuadorian right accuse each other of providing support to the guerrillas. “It is with deep pain that we must assume political responsibility for this tactical error, which has no justification,” said a statement Tuesday evening from the Central Staff (EMC), the main dissident guerrilla of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia which refused the historic peace agreement of 2016. A high-intensity bomb exploded on the Pan-American highway linking the towns of Cali and Popayan, in the department of Cauca (southwest), killing 21 people and injuring 56 civilians in their vehicles. This is the deadliest death toll against civilians in more than 20 years, a few weeks before the first round of the presidential election on May 31. The army suspects the rebels of having set up a roadblock to attract the police and ambush them, a military source told AFP. Arrest of the “main person responsible” for the attack The Minister of Defense, Pedro Sanchez, affirmed that the EMC intended to act in retaliation for the military pressure exerted in its stronghold of Cauca, covered with vast areas of coca fields, after the failure of peace negotiations between President Petro and the leader of this dissidence led by Ivan Mordisco, the most wanted guerrilla in the country. On Tuesday, the police announced that they had arrested the “main leader” of a local structure affiliated with the EMC, and named José Vitonco, alias Mi Pez, “mainly responsible” for the attack. The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia on Wednesday called on the government and armed groups to respectively “prevent” and “cease all attacks” against civilian populations. President Gustavo Petro claimed that the attack aimed to “sabotage the elections” while the left, which came to power for the first time in 2022, intends to retain power. Ivan Cepeda, Petro’s political heir, is leading the race in the polls, and believes that attacks by armed groups benefit the “extreme right”. Right-wing candidates hold the government responsible for the violence, calling into question its negligence towards armed groups. On Wednesday, Gustavo Petro accused the right-wing government in Ecuador of interference, holding President Daniel Noboa “responsible for the violence in Colombia.” He called for an investigation into whether the explosives used in the attack came from Ecuador and published photos of Daniel Noboa with leaders of the Colombian right. Daniel Noboa for his part accused his Colombian counterpart on Wednesday of having encouraged an “incursion” of guerrillas on the border between the two countries, engaged in an escalation of threats of increased customs taxes. “Several sources have reported to us an incursion of Colombian guerrillas on the northern border, orchestrated by the Petro government. We will protect our border and our population,” wrote Daniel Noboa on X. With AFP
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Source: This article was originally published in another language by France 24 – Infos, news & actualités – L'information internationale en direct and has been translated and adapted for our global English-speaking audience. Read the original article here.