Edwin Collo Dagua, one of the leaders of the Ismael Ruíz structure of FARC dissidents, admitted his participation in the attack on a National Police patrol which caused the death of seven police officers in the rural area of Neiva (Huila), and other criminal actions.
One of the main coordinators of a wave of violence promoted by the Ismael Ruiz structure of the FARC dissidents in Tolima and Huila, pleaded guilty, through a pre-agreement, to 21 crimes and other criminal actions against the civilian population and the public force.
This is about Edwin Collo Dagua, alias Guajiro, one of the leaders of the illegal armed group who, by virtue of the agreement approved by a specialized criminal judge in Neiva (Huila), was sentenced to 27 years and 4 months in prison for the commission of homicide, conspiracy to commit a crime and attempted homicide (aggravated conducts); in addition to manufacturing, trafficking, possession of firearms, accessories or ammunition for personal use and for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces, qualified theft and damage to someone else’s property.
The evidence obtained by the Office of the Attorney General indicates that alias Guajiro participated in the attack with explosives on a National Police patrol, on September 2, 2022, in San Luis in Neiva (Huila) in which seven police officers died and one was injured. On that occasion, the attackers took rifles, pistols, grenades, grenade launchers, vests and other items valued at more than 82 million COP.
During the investigation, it was proven that Collo Dagua was involved in other violent deaths that occurred between 2021 and 2023. Among them, the one perpetrated on May 28, 2021, in the rural area of San Agustín area, in Planadas (Tolima) in which one man died; also a triple homicide that was committed in Aipecito in Neiva (Huila), on December 23, 2021; and a murder committed in a pool hall in La Marina area, in Chaparral (Tolima), on May 15, 2023.
The judge ordered that the sentence must be served in a prison and stressed that there are no alternative sentences. Likewise, alias Guajiro was disbarred from the exercise of public functions for 328 months.
The information contained in this press release corresponds to the narration of the objective news provided by the officials in charge of carrying out 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.