Alleged people responsible for threats against human rights defenders and residents in El Salado were arrested

The people who were arrested are the sister and a neighbor of one of the leaders who was threatened.

From the moment that the community of  El Salado, in Carmen de Bolívar (Bolívar), informed about the threats against some residents and human rights defenders, the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, assigned an itinerant team and coordinated the actions between the Delegate Office on Public Safety and the Special Directorate against Human Rights to clarify the facts.

Thanks to the investigations carried out in conjunction with Dijin-National Police, it was possible to obtain enough technical evidence that shows that the intimidating text messages between January 15th and March 10th of the current year and the pamphlets that circulated among the inhabitants, were apparently sent by the sister and the neighbor of one of the social leaders who was threatened.

The verifications carried out show that the messages shared via cell phone came from lines and equipment used by these two people, and were sent from the same area, El Salado. Likewise, it was possible to establish that the pamphlets with logos and allusions to an alleged armed group called “Águilas Negras” were allegedly printed at one of the defendants’ house.

“It is extremely deplorable that the two people arrested appear as alleged victims of the threats. That is a fraud against the country and to the institutions”, said the Attorney General, Francisco Barbosa Delgado, when announcing the results of the investigation.

The two alleged perpetrators were arrested in El Salado. Cell phones, SIM cards, a printer, and other evidence were seized during the proceedings.

The people arrested will be brought before a judge in Cartagena (Bolívar). A prosecutor assigned to the Special Directorate against Human Rights will charge them with threats against human rights defenders, threats, forced displacement, and terrorism.

When we speak, results follow.

The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out the criminal investigations within the Office of the Attorney General. By the time this communication is disclosed, the legal status of the people mentioned is still pending to be resolved by the competent judicial authority, always under the presumption of innocence contemplated by Article 29 of the Political Constitution and Article 7 of Law 906 of 2004.