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(CNN Spanish) - One of the photographs included in the report delivered by Colombian President Ivan Duque to the Secretary General of the United Nations and that, according to the Government of Colombia, would prove the presence of guerrilla groups in Venezuelan territory, was taken in Colombia and not in Venezuela, argues the newspaper "El Colombiano", which had access to the same photograph in 2015.
According to the newspaper, the image was shared by Government Military Intelligence sources in 2015 and “would correspond to the recruitment practices carried out by the National Liberation Army (ELN) in El Tambo, Cauca,” not in the Venezuelan state of Táchira, as indicates the document presented by Duke.
In an article, “El Colombiano” explains that in June of that year, they traveled to the area and made a report entitled “With pinatas and gifts they take children to war”. “In this one not only the controversial photography was reviewed,
but others with minors who were involved in actions with the guerrilla group, ”he adds.
- Iván Duque shares map of guerrilla operations in Venezuela
Duque posted on his Twitter account some of the alleged evidence included in the report delivered to the UN. The image in question shared by the president is described as the “penetration of ELN in schools
in the state of Táchira for indoctrination purposes April 2018 ”.
The presidency office has not ruled on the controversy and has not responded to CNN's request to obtain a clarification on the photograph and its origin.
This is the image that generated the controversy.
However, the Colombian Army general, Luis Fernando Navarro, explained in a press conference on Friday that the report was prepared with data from intelligence agencies but also other sources such as the organization
Non-governmental “Fundaredes”.
Iván Duque, president of Colombia. (Credit: Riccardo Savi / Getty Images, Concordia Summit)
“The photo is taken as a reference before a test, of the report presented by Fundaredes in 2018,” said Navarro and added that, according to the NGO report, educators from the state of Táchira would have denounced ELN activities in educational centers, “for what was considered to be a viable opinion, ”said Navarro.
In his report, Fundaredes says that he obtained the photograph through complaints from educators in the area that detailed that ELN guerrillas “are armed in the educational centers in the states of Apure, Amazonas, Barinas, Bolívar, Táchira and Zulia where they condemn teachers and students to participate in recreational activities in playgrounds ”.
Funderedes explained that the foundation's defenders and activists made the first visits to educational institutions in 2009.
On the use of photography by "El Colombiano", the general said that the Ministry of Defense had no knowledge of the report and that "the use of photography will be verified."
Navarro defended the importance of the report delivered by Duke to the UN, "the backbone of this report is intelligence work and operations," he concluded.
ELNIván Duque