In the networks, they identify one of the armed civilians in Cali: he would be known among local and international celebrities

On May 28, hundreds of Caleños denounced the presence of armed civilians who fired in the air and at groups of demonstrators and passers-by, during the meeting between them and the national police of Colombia. What is striking in the videos, moreover, is the presence of men in uniform next to these armed civilians, who are not arrested or captured and act instead. in complicity.

Thanks to Twitter, he was denounced: “From Ciudad Jardin (Ciudad Balin) they start sending videos urging people to come out to ‘support’ the police, their ‘support’ technique is to go and assassinate and intimidate anyone they meet.” Likewise, they warned that “armed civilians accompanied by the national police and the army shoot at demonstrators in the universities in front of the CAI of Ciudad Jardín”.

After the complaints and thanks to several videos and photos One of the armed civilians has been identified. He spoke directly to the citizens and fired several shots in the air.

It is Rafael Andrés Escobar González, who appears in several photos while providing a weapon and firing indiscriminately. In social media, identification could be achieved through his physical appearance, the clothing of the company he works for, and a striking tattoo on his right arm.

The same company confirmed a few hours later that it was him. In his social networks you can see how he shares spaces with celebrities and influencers from Cali, Colombians and foreigners, with whom he is said to have worked as a provider of audiovisual production and advertising services through social networks.

Escobar’s profiles are already deactivated, but there you can see that he called himself as the co-founder of Media Advertaising. This company has confirmed the identity of the man and recently released a statement claiming that Escobar has been out of your business for over a month.

About his game on the steps, In this video you can see how Andrés Escobar threatens and shoots in the air to disperse the protesters:

For the moment, we do not know where Escobar is, but in the networks there are thousands who ask the authorities are acting to stop him and ensure that justice is done. One of them is famous activist Beto Coral, who posted a video that compiles the case.

The observation comes at a time when the presence of armed civilians has already aroused international concern, and even the reaction of the director of Human Rights Watch for the Americas, José Miguel Vivanco, who warned last night through a message posted on Twitter. that “we have corroborated videos from Cali showing armed men in civilian clothes shooting at inaction by members of the police. Minister Molano (@mindefensa) must give urgent explanation“.

Although the head of the security portfolio has not commented on the issue, Colombian authorities have issued a response. with the voice of Major General Jorge Ramírez, Inspector General of the National Police of Colombia. It was he who, through a video posted on social networks, assured that the institution would open an investigation to clarify who were the people in civilian clothes and the reasons why the men in uniform allowed them to open fire. on the protesters.

“In front of the well-known videos of social networks in which some citizens are observed using weapons in the Ciudad Jardín sector in Cali, and in which the presence of members of the security forces is attested, the corresponding investigation has been ordered by the General Inspectorate of the National Police and Military Criminal Justice. Likewise, the material collected was brought to the attention of the Ombudsman, the Office of the Defender, the Prosecutor’s Office and the Office of the Prosecutor, so that, within the framework of their competence, they contribute to the clarification of the facts ”, declared the manager.

With this, there would already be at least 154 disciplinary processes initiated by the police due to irregularities committed by members of the law enforcement agencies. It should be remembered that, according to the Ministry of Defense, 74 are for abuse of power, 10 for murder, 31 for physical assault, 15 for injuries, 2 for sexual harassment and 21 for other conduct.

Among these actions, 54 investigations are carried out by regional and provincial prosecutors; 23 by the public prosecutor under the number of preferential power; 34 by military criminal justice and 1 against two men in uniform which was not specified.

The Director of the National Police, Major General Jorge Luis Vargas, acknowledged the investigation and stressed that “we have asked the Criminal Investigation Section of Cali carry out all identification tasks for people who have used firearms to also bring them to justice for the corresponding offenses of illegal possession, arms trafficking and offenses which may be qualified as contrary to the law ”.

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