Petro ruled out negotiations with Gulf Clan, announces emergency meeting to work out what to do

The difficult public order situation in the sub-region of Lower Cauca Antioquia led the national government to reconsider the possible negotiation with the gulf clanthe fact that this armed group is singled out by various authorities as being the main instigator of vandalism and violence against the Force Publique by demonstrators in this area.

This was mentioned by the Head of State, Gustavo Petroin the middle of an interview with the official government media, Colombia todaywhere he assured that the armed group had violated the bilateral ceasefire decreed on January 1st.

“With him gulf clan we had is an involution. It’s a drug trafficking organization, they’re sons of paramilitaries, but they no longer have the state support they used to have. Its central activity is making noise, ”said the president.

Furthermore, he insisted that he should re-evaluate peace talks with the armed group as he would “prioritize their businesses more and stay in their businesses”. This will become evident with events such as the attack on the aqueduct of Tarazawhich for the president is the responsibility of the criminal organization.

“Absolutely aggressive impacts against the same population that many are enduring out of fear, others for money and that is why we have the situation today. literally the gulf clan He could not take the step towards a collective submission to justice which was being prepared legally, he seems to favor his business more and stay in his business.

In the same program, Gustavo Petro He also said that the attacks on ambulances and other acts of vandalism and violence were perpetrated by young people in these towns who “for money, do this: burn cars, cut down trees, chop wood from heating. Who pays? Those who don’t”. I do not want to pay the big dredges are destroyed and these are with the Clan del Golfo”.

For all these reasons, the National President has stated that he does not see the possibility of a peace negotiation with the Clan del Golfo, as long as this armed group does not assume a real commitment to put an end to their illegal activities because, according to what they said, this would bring difficulties to the process.

“Until it becomes political will in the hearts of illegal people, peace will have these difficulties,” the president explained.

For all that, Petro announced that in the next few hours there will be an emergency meeting with senior government officials, including the Minister of Defence, Ivan Velazquezand all the military dome to analyze the situation in Lower Cauca and assess what will be the future of the ceasefire with the Clan del Golfo, which would have already ended two and a half months.

This meeting is scheduled for the afternoon at Narino Palace, where the president usually holds a security council every Monday. He will have to get there from Rosas, Cauca, where he plans to travel to allow the passage of vehicles through the variant built in response to the emergency caused by the landslide on the Pan-American highway.

It should be remembered that the whole situation in Antioquia is experienced because the Force Publique destroyed large dredgers that were used for illegal mining. Here, as has been denounced, the illicit trade in gulf clanTherefore, he allegedly infiltrated the mining strike to generate chaos in Bajo Cauca, Antioquia.

In the last hours of Sunday March 12, hooded members of this armed group set fire to the toll booth located at the entrance to the municipality of Tarazá and, a few minutes later, broke a drinking water pipe that supplies the less than 48,000 people.