The murder of four Indigenous minors, which occurred in the Putumayo department, was defined by President Petro as “a slap to peace” during a security council.
On Monday, the Colombian government partially suspended the bilateral ceasefire with the Central General Staff (EMC), a dissidence of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
“We inform about the bilateral ceasefire with this armed group in the departments of Meta, Caqueta, Guaviare, and Putumayo. All offensive operations are reactivated,” Colombian authorities said, announcing that the ceasefire will take effect in the next 72 hours.
President Gustavo Petro made this decision in response to the murder of four Indigenous minors who tried to escape after being forcibly recruited by the EMC’s Carolina Ramirez Front.
This murder was denounced on Saturday by the National Organization of the Indigenous Peoples of the Colombian Amazon (OPIAC).
“There is no justification whatsoever for this kind of crime,” the Colombian government said, noting that the EMC incurred in a “serious violation of International Humanitarian Law.”
