Petro says FARC dissidents “very likely” to blame for attack on police officers

The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, has assured that it is very likely that those responsible for this Friday’s attack against a Colombian Police vehicle that left seven agents dead and one wounded in the east of the country are FARC dissidents.

“It is highly probable that members that today are called dissidents in some of the formations were responsible for the attack. It is that type of dissidents who have to answer for these facts”, Petro declared in a press conference after going to the place where the attack took place.

The Colombian president has determined that the probability that the FARC is responsible is 90 percent. “The investigation must continue now in the hands of the Prosecutor’s Office,” he added.

“Since yesterday we have held several meetings right here (Huila department) trying to learn from the mistakes that have been made and the circumstances that the country is living,” said the leader.

Likewise, Petro has regretted that these actions are a reflection of the non-compliance with the peace agreement. “The population is upset in anxiety because it had built the illusion of definitive peace,” he said.

“The more we talk about peace, the more we have to raise our guard, the more careful we have to be from the point of view of military actions”, Petro has pointed out, after announcing that he will make a balance on the peace process.

In addition, the president has asked that there be “no more police auxiliaries in the conflict zones.” “We have to take care of those first youths. Those boys cannot be in high-risk places, where more capacity and years of experience are needed. I hope that no more 18 and 19 year olds die,” he said, since of the seven officers who died, three were auxiliaries.

Colombian authorities confirmed on Friday night that seven policemen had died and one officer had been wounded, as a result of an attack with explosive devices in a rural area of Nieva, in eastern Colombia.

Initially, the authorities confirmed the death of the eight officers who were traveling in an institutional vehicle. However, the police later stated that one of the uniformed officers had survived by hiding during the attack.

Petro regretted that “these facts express a clear sabotage to total peace.” “I have asked the authorities to move to the territory to assume the investigation,” he added in a message posted on his social network account Twitter.

The representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Colombia, Juliette de Rivero, has joined the expressions of solidarity with “the families of the victims and the institution.” “We make an urgent call for respect for life,” she urged.