:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/FMGYCG54UBETXPXPHWUI6HMDKQ.jpg "The ELN announces that it will release the soldier it kidnapped in Arauquita")
National Liberation Army, ELNannounced that he would release Deputy Sergeant Libey Danilo Bravowho had been abducted on February 14 in the municipality of Arauquita, Arauca, while he was in a commercial establishment, dressed in civilian clothes, and armed men forced him into a vehicle to take him to a location unknown.
The sergeant kidnapped in Arauca is a “prisoner of war”, assured the commander of the ELN: he announced that he would be released alive
Alias Antonio García assured that the guerrilla organization respects IHL while the public forces do not
Through his Twitter account, the guerrilla commander, Eliécer Herlinto Chamorro Acosta, alias ‘antonio garcia‘, said that ‘Sergeant Libey Danilo Bravo, captured by the ELN in Arauca, is a prisoner of war, his status as a prisoner and his rights as a victim are respected, as established by IHL. He will be released alive and with respect for his integrity and dignity.”
He added that “the murders of ELN compañeros by government military forces, in a defenseless state, in Naya and Antioquia are war crimes, in violation of IHL”.
It was the ELN: the army assures that this group, in conversations with the Mexican government, kidnapped the sergeant in Arauca
The soldier was attacked and forced into a truck by armed men who took him to an unknown destination.
Since the sergeant’s kidnapping, his family have called for his release and questioned the guerrilla group’s desire for peace, whose representatives are currently in Mexico conducting the second round of talks with the national government.
For his part, the High Commissioner for Peace, Danielo Rueda, indicated that this kidnapping does not mean that the ELN has no desire for peace. “There is a will on the part of the ELN, we are talking about a dialogue in the midst of an armed conflict which has no ceasefire, the release has already been requested, the President of the Republic himself even asked for it, while we received the information while he was in Mexico that we immediately ask the ELN for his freedom,” he said.
The event occurred on the night of February 14, 2023 in the municipality of Arauquita, Arauca, when armed men attacked the assistant sergeant, who is attached to the Special Energy Battalion and bottle number 1, they put it in a truck and took it to an unknown destination.
Alliance between the Farc and the ELN to fight the Clan del Golfo in Antioquia
The National Army is currently patrolling the area to ensure community safety.
As soon as they became aware of the situation in the eighth division of the national army, the competent authorities were informed to take the complaints forward, as well as a padlock plan and a security device were activated, in coordination with the national police, to try to locate the sergeant.
“No one should be subjected to chains of abduction under any pretext. This is a flagrant violation of human rights and international humanitarian law,” said the The national army on the illegal detention of Sergeant Bravo, for which his immediate release is requested.
The National Army rejected the fact and assured that “this criminal action violates human rights and constitutes a violation of IHL”. They indicated that the respective complaints have already been filed with national and international organizations to be considered a crime against humanity.
The High Commissioner for Peace, Danilo Rueda, told the Peace Commission of the Congress of the Republic that actions are being taken for the liberation of the people in power from the guerrilla organization. However, he clarified that a ceasefire has not been signed with the ELN, which is being discussed as part of the second round of talks in Mexico.