The National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas apologized on Tuesday, defending the opening the day before when some of their troops opened fire on the caravan of Arauca’s governor in northwestern Colombia, calling it a “self-critical admission” despite claims from a team of politicians that they “disobeyed orders” in the face of a roving raid.
“Our troops carried out a proportionate attack, but because they did not follow orders, they thoughtlessly and hastily fired at the truck (of Arauca Governor Renzon Martinez). We publicly and self-critically recognized our mistake. We know that it could have had deadly consequences,” ELN Commander-in-Chief Emmanuel Vázquez Castaño declared in a video broadcast on social networks, later saying he regretted it “deeply.” that. He called it an “unfortunate incident” and issued an “apology.”
The militia leader has repeatedly emphasized that this is a “self-critical recognition” of the events that took place on Monday, which he presented within the framework of the “territorial registration and control exercise” on the highway between Fortres and Tamen in the aforementioned province.
He also vowed to carry out a “proper investigation” within the armed group to find out what happened, while vowing to “follow the law and our own regulations” before advising the public to pay attention to checkpoint signs.
Governor Arauca declared it a “miracle” that he survived the shooting. In an interview with Caracol Radio, he estimated that eight “heavily armed” men were involved in the attack.
“They immediately fired indiscriminately at the main vehicle in which I was traveling along with my security chief,” he said, lamenting that “due to illegal checkpoints by armed groups, mainly the ELN, we abducted prosecutors, police and soldiers.”
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