Simple kidnapping and extortion would be more common in Norte de Santander than in the other departments
Human rights defenders asked the Government and the authorities for quick actions to intervene for the safety of its inhabitants
Norte de Santander ranks first in simple kidnapping and extortion kidnapping: DD advocates. H H. Pixabay.
The Departmental Peace Council from Norte de Santander warned that simple and extortive kidnapping is taking root in the department, despite the fact that the national government is implementing Total Peace, which is what they intend to disarm criminal structures that sow terror throughout the country.
Ombudsman's Office offers mediation to release a kidnapped community mother in Norte de Santander They once again asked the illegal armed groups in the region to show true signs of peace by releasing the people in their power
SEE NOTA< /p>
In dialogue with the RCN Radio station, representatives of the aforementioned entity warned that these crimes are increasingly common in the municipalities and villages of Norte Santander. However, they assure that this scenario is not new and warn that, for more than five years, kidnapping has become a daily occurrence in their region and they request quick actions from the Colombian State.
Moreover, according to Enrique Pertuz, president of the Departmental Peace Council of Norte de Santander, the kidnapping in Norte de Santander, in different forms, continues to frame that department as the one that suffers the most in Colombia “in the last five years,” he warned, in turn revealing that, annually, between 60 and 67 known kidnappings both simple and extortion.
Kidnapping in Colombia would be more common in Norte de Santander
Different human rights defenders in that sector of the country also assured that this crime is rarely given relevance and urged both public opinion, as well as the Government, to take action as soon as possible to guarantee the safety of the inhabitants of that department.
“It seems that to the authorities, both civil and military, this (kidnapping) is of little importance; We are talking about kidnappings, a crime against humanity, and this year the department has already been shaken, already by three kidnappings in less than 40 days,” Enrique Pertuz told the aforementioned station.
They even ask the Public Force to guarantee operations that allow the victims to “return safe and sound to the bosom of their family”. In addition, they ask the authorities to give it the required importance to the issue because, just 14 days before 2023, according to Pertuz, several civilians, police officers and other inhabitants of Norte de Santander, have been illegally detained.
The unresolved cases
One of the cases that the Council Department of that department warned is that, for more than 2 years, there are citizens of whom no more information is known about their whereabouts. Therefore, they requested quick actions to return to their homes. The identities of the victims are: Norayma Carrascal Picón, Mauricio Bohórquez and Evangelista Bohórquez.
The National Army confirmed the kidnapping of a soldier in the department of CaucaSergeant Juan Gabriel Chichanoi Miramag was on leave when armed men detained him on an intermunicipal bus
SEE NOTE
About Carrascal Pinzón is known to have been the leader of the community mothers of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute (ICBF) in Ocaña. The crime, according to the authorities, was perpetrated by a group of armed men when the victim was moving on the road that leads from the area known as El Limón to the township of Aguas Claras, in that conflictive region of Norte Santander. /p>
Norte de Santander: plagued by paramilitaries, kidnappers and other problems. Infobae (Jesús Avilés)
According to the inhabitants of the sector, Carrascal is also recognized by the Ocaña community as a social leader who also has a micro-enterprise based in Aguas Claras.
Proof of survival of kidnapped soldier in Bolívar revealed Bohórquez, who are part of the same family, it is known that, in the case of Evangelista, he was kidnapped at the very beginning of the pandemic when he was moving along with his sentimental partner and one of his sons in the road corridor between Ocaña and Río de Oro (Cesar). There a group of armed men took him to the mountainous area of Catatumbo.
His relative, Mauricio, was kidnapped on October 25 2022, also in the town of Aguas Claras by another group of armed men.
These cases are added to that of an American citizen, identified as Abraham Coakley, whose whereabouts have not been traced since he went on a trip to Cúcuta, after having arrived from Bogotá.
Continue reading: