Five of the victims succumbed to their injuries on the spot; three others, including two women, were injured, one seriously, the Salinas police chief told a Colombian radio station.
Five people were killed by unknown gunmen in the southern Colombian municipality of Orito, on the border with Ecuador, authorities announced Wednesday.
According to General Freddy Fernando Gómez, commandant of the Jungle Brigade Nº27, at this hour operations are underway to capture those responsible for the massacre that occurred in Puerto Orito where 5 young people were killed pic.twitter.com/YupJvUnQll
— W Radio Colombia (@WRadioColombia) December 14, 2022
The attack was committed on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. The attackers, riding a motorcycle, opened fire “indiscriminately” on eight people gathered in the same location, said police director Jorge Salinas, head of the Putumayo department.
Five of the victims succumbed to their injuries on the spot; three others, including two women, were injured, one seriously, the Salinas police chief told a Colombian radio station.
The location where the attack was committed is frequented by drug addicts.
Police suspect the massacre was carried out by the “Comandos de la Frontera”, dissidents from the former FARC rebel group, who reject a peace deal signed in 2016.
About a month ago, they engaged in heavy fighting with another FARC dissident group in the same area in Putumayo, resulting in the deaths of at least 20 alleged rebels.
Amid an increase in drug trafficking across the country, armed groups are attempting to dominate vast swathes of land, control coca crops and cocaine trafficking routes to markets in Europe and the US via Ecuador.
After the massacre in Orito, the presidents of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, announced that “joint operations” would be conducted along the 586-kilometer border and exchanged messages about them on Twitter.
The operations will target “mafias who use the border as a drug-trafficking route,” according to Mr. Petros. “Count on our active help”, answered Mr. Lasso, underlining that his own government is also “fighting” against “drug trafficking and organized crime”.
Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in Colombia’s history — he took office in the summer — hopes to negotiate with all armed groups, including drug-trafficking gangs, as part of his ambitious plan to bring “absolute peace” .
But the first talks with some of the armed factions have not allowed, at least not yet, to de-escalate the violence in the country.
According to the non-governmental organization INDEPAZ, 93 massacres were committed during 2022, with dozens of victims.
Despite five decades of “war on drugs,” Colombia remains by far the world’s number one producer of cocaine.
RES-EMP
Read the News today and get the latest news.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News and be the first to know all the news.
With a wealth of experience honed over 4+ years in journalism, I bring a seasoned voice to the world of news. Currently, I work as a freelance writer and editor, always seeking new opportunities to tell compelling stories in the field of world news.
