ELN Takes the Responsability for Attack Against the Colombian Army in Arauca
Damages left by the actions in Cauca, Sept 2024, Photo: EFE
September 20, 2024 Hour: 9:08 pm
In a statement, the military group described the attack as “legitimate” and said that it was carried out with ELN’s own weapons.
The Colombian National Liberation Army (ELN) acknowledged its responsibility for the attack in Puerto Jordán, Arauca, which resulted in three deaths and 28 people injured.
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In a statement, the military group described the attack as “legitimate” and carried out with ELN’s own weapons (a flock of tattoos that they detonated).
Port Jordan is a base that is part of the Eighth Army Division, which in turn is part of the Chiron Task Force.
The commander of this base, General Javier Hernando Africano López, was accused by the ELN of “guarding and protecting” the ex-paramilitary who created his own gang, the Banda del Pescao, Luis Felipe Jiménez Ramírez, who created his military band after having been part of the Tenth Front of the former Colombian Armed Forces (FARC).
Local media report that “Jiménez is part of a dissident faction of the former guerrilla who has influence in Arauca, as it is a strategic corridor for drug trafficking. According to the ELN, ‘Pescao’ and his group are located nine kilometres from the attacked base”.
“Our actions against this paramilitary plan are legitimate,” said the illegal military group, which described itself as “an organization with political principles, like insurgent guerrillas with more than 60 years of struggle”.
The wounded from the attack in Jordan are treated at the Central Military Hospital in Bogota and at Yopal, Casanare.
“We denounce that the Army continues to escalate the counterinsurgency plan in the municipality of Cubará, Boyacá, because on several occasions its patrols appear in the indigenous community using para-exFarc bracelets,” the group said.
On September 17, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, ended the dialogue process with the ELN after the group attacked the military base in Puerto Jordán.
On that day, the Colombian Army had attributed possible responsibility for the attack to the ELN guerrilla group, as it is present in that territory.
Autor: CC
Fuente: EFE
