They offer a reward of 50 million dollars to those responsible for the Ábrego massacre

A few hours after the identity of the five victims of the massacre recorded in the municipality of Ábrego, Norte de Santander, which took place around 10:00 a.m. at night last Saturday March 6 national authorities have announced that they will be offering rewards for information that helps find the perpetrators.

The announcement was made by Defense Minister Diego Molano after a Extraordinary Security Council held in Ocaña and in which he was accompanied by local authorities and the commanders of the Colombian army and national police.

According to the head of the security portfolio, the events happened “Some disputes between drug-related criminal groups such as ELN and ‘Los Pelusos’where there have been threats between one and the other, and of course the investigations will determine who is responsible.

Likewise, Molano pointed out that there are indications to think that in the billiard table in which the massacre was presented suspected members of “Los Pelusos” were present.

“A reward of up to 50 million pesos is offered to those who provide information this leads to the capture of the material perpetrators ”of the massacre recorded in the village of Oropoma, in the mentioned commune.

In addition, it was learned that the ministry had also given the order to assign a platoon of 600 soldiers. of the new Command against Drug Trafficking and Transnational Threats, Conat, as well as an additional team of Gaula national police officers, to help combat armed groups present in the region.

According to official information, the five victims of the massacre are Winston Prada Puentes, Heimer Ortiz Ballesteros, José Luis Vega Plata, Jesús Alberto Vega and Robinson Garay Barbos, which the community said were dedicated to harvesting tomatoes and onions in the area.

We know that the group was in a billiard room where two men arrived who opened fire on people. The five men tried to flee, but were hit by gunfire. Four people died in the establishment and another died arriving at a health center in the town.

This incident also left five others injured, who were taken to hospital. Northwest of Ábrego and in the hospital Emiro Quintero Cañizares de Ocaña. The injured are: Diego Andrés Ortiz Guerrero, 20; José Julián Jiménez Coronel, 21; Deiby Sarabia Guevara, 21, and Cristian Camilo Torrado Prada, 22.

“The army and police moved around the area, finding four dead in a pool table and six were transferred to hospitals in Ocaña and Ábrego. Later, one of these people dies from the seriousness of the injuries and the others receive medical treatment, ”Colonel Carlos Martínez, Norte de Santander police commander, told La Opinion newspaper.

Authorities arrived at the scene with human rights teams to determine what happened at the pool table and to advance the investigation into those responsible for and motives for the violent incident in Norte. of Santander.

This sector belongs to Catatumbo, an area with a strong ELN presence, where armed groups belonging to Farc and Pelusos dissidents also commit crimes. as members of the so-called People’s Liberation Army are known. It is also indicated that the paramilitary group calling itself Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia AGC or Clan del Golfo could be present there.

“New massacre in Colombia. Five people were killed and four others were injured between the municipalities of Abrego and Ocaña, in Norte de Santander. Armed men went to a pool hall in the area and attacked them. Stop the massacres», Informed the president of the But movement, Martha Peralta Epieyú.

According to Indepaz, So far this year, there have been 15 massacres with a cutoff on February 22, which left 55 victims in 13 municipalities across the country., mainly in the departments of Antioquia, Cauca and Nariño where 4 and 3 events were presented respectively in the first weeks of the year. The massacre in Ábrego would be the first recorded to date in 2021 in the department of Norte de Santander, according to the report of this foundation.

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 2020 was the year with the most massacres since 2014. That year, 76 of these violent events occurred, killing 292 people., among which there are 23 women, 18 boys, 6 girls, 7 natives and 10 afro-descendants.

The last massacre recorded in the municipality of Ábrego, according to the newspaper La Opinion, was recorded on August 25, 2020 when in the sector of Paloquemao, in the municipality of Capitán Largo, the bodies of three peasants were found with various impacts of bullet in the body.

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