Terrorism
Colombia seeks extradition from Venezuela of FARC terrorists who killed children
In a statement, Lopez said "the lives of Colombians are above any political consideration” and asked the Venezuelan dictatorship to "respect the lives of the Colombian people"
March 29, 2022 7:41pm
Updated: March 31, 2022 4:54pm
The Mayor of the Colombian capital of Bogota, Claudia Lopez, reportedly asked the regime of Nicolas Maduro to extradite FARC dissidents taking refuge in Venezuela, noting that individuals responsible for the bombing of a police facility where two children were killed are currently residing there.
In a statement, Lopez said "the lives of Colombians are above any political consideration” and asked the Venezuelan dictatorship to "respect the lives of the Colombian people.” The lawmaker further requested that Caracas help coordinate the "capture and extradition of any member or accomplice" of the dissident group.
Lopez also indicated that she will present seven policy proposals to Colombian President Ivan Duque, including a plan to reinforce military intelligence in order to better track rebel groups and another to position military and police units along the entrances and exits to Bogota.
Estamos unidos condenando y combatiendo el terrorismo criminal porque no vamos a permitir que acaben con la vida de los colombianos y mucho menos de nuestros niños! Honraremos la memoria de las víctimas con resultados y con sometimiento a la justicia.#BogotáRechazaLaViolencia pic.twitter.com/MdF21YkdGL
— Claudia López Hernández (@ClaudiaLopez) March 29, 2022
Last weekend, a five-year-old girl and a 12-year-old boy were killed during a terrorist bomb attack against a Police Immediate Attention Command (CAI) post south of the Colombian capital, Bogota.
Saturday night’s attack against the CAI in the Arborizadora Alta neighborhood of Ciudad Bolivar, one of the capital’s poorest neighborhoods, left 35 bystanders injured and killed 12-year-old Daniel Estiven Duque Buitrago and 5-year-old Ivanna Salome Rangel Molina.
In a video published across social media, dissidents from FARC’s 33rd front claimed responsibility for the attack. The group’s commander, known as Arley, stated that the attack was carried out to “celebrate the anniversary” of FARC founder Manuel Marulanda Vélez, alias Tirofijo, Semana reported.
President Duque announced on Tuesday after meeting with his security council that his government would institute new security measures for the Colombian capital, including the deployment of 120 new intelligence agents.
"As a result of these cowardly and despicable acts, we have provided 120 police men with intelligence and criminal investigation capacity so that we can find those responsible for these acts and move forward with their rapid prosecution," the head of state noted.
The security council was also attended by Minister of Defense Diego Molano and Minister of the Interior Daniel Palacios – as well as the Cundinamarca Gov. Nicolas Garcia and the mayors of Bogota and Soacha.
Duque further explained that a “special cell of the financial analysis unit will be created to follow up on the movement of money that enabled the attack.”
The Head of State also indicated that wanted posters will be updated to include a reward for information that leads to the capture of John Mechas, the head of FARC’s 33rd Front.
➡️Aumenta recompensa por 'John Mechas' a $5 mil millones
— Iván Duque 🇨🇴 (@IvanDuque) March 29, 2022
➡Más operaciones en entradas y salidas de Bogotá
➡Mil policías adicionales de refuerzo en elecciones
➡Con @COL_EJERCITO y @PoliciaColombia, activaremos #PlanCoraza y #PlanArmadura para desplegar capacidades tácticas. pic.twitter.com/f9SHKgcPtz
