NewsLatin AmericaEight police officers are killed in an ambush in a rural area of ​​central Colombia

Eight police officers are killed in an ambush in a rural area of ​​central Colombia

Vehicle where eight agents were killed in an attack in San Luis, near Neiva, Huila. August 2, 2022RR SS

Eight police officers have been killed this Friday in the Corozal village near Neiva, Huila, in the center of the country. The uniformed men were attacked with explosives and rifle bursts in an ambush, according to local media reports. The attack occurred around 2:30 p.m., when a device was activated as a vehicle from the institution passed by, leaving eight dead at the moment. The president, Gustavo Petro, rejected the crime and announced an investigation. “These events express a clear sabotage of total peace,” he wrote on Twitter, just a few minutes after the massacre was confirmed.

This year more than 30 policemen have been assassinated throughout the country. The authorities have pointed to a pistol plan behind these crimes, which targets young policemen, patrolmen and women, most of whom were on duty when they were killed. This Friday has been the worst attack against the institution under the new government, which began its term on August 7, with the difficult challenge of curbing violence in Colombia.

Luis Fernando Trejos, professor at the Universidad del Norte and conflict expert, explained a few days ago that the so-called pistol plan, as the order by an armed group to systematically assassinate members of the public force is known, is part of the strategy of the armed groups to reposition themselves before the arrival of the new Executive. The authorities have not named any organization in the attack on the eight police officers. In the area where the events occurred, two dissidences of the extinct FARC are present.

Colombia closes one of the most violent weeks of the year. The previous weekend there were four massacres, and two leaders and two journalists were killed. The NGO Indepaz reports that in 2022 there have been 72 massacres, 11 since Gustavo Petro came to power. Senator Ivan Cepeda, who has the difficult task of landing Petro’s Peace proposal, has recognized this week that everything lies ahead. “We must redouble efforts to end the violence in the territories,” he acknowledged.

[Noticia en desarrollo. Habra actualizacion en breve]

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Source: EL PAIS

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