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(CNN Spanish) - Colombian President Ivan Duque announced Friday that Nicacio Martínez will no longer be the commander of the National Army.
In a press conference accompanied by the country's military leadership, Duque said that Major General Martínez said he leaves the post "for family reasons."
Major General Eduardo Enrique Zapateiro Altamiranda was appointed as the new commander of the Colombian National Army.
On May 18, The New York Times, in an article entitled “The orders of lethality of the Colombian Army put civilians at risk,” questioned Martínez's alleged orders to his men through a guideline so that they supposedly “doubled the amount of criminals and rebels who kill, capture or force to surrender in battle. ”
LOOK: The NYT's response to the Colombian government's letter about military orders that could lead to extrajudicial executions
The assertion was immediately rejected by the then defense minister, Guillermo Botero, and by President Iván Duque, in public pronouncements and through a letter sent to The New York Times.
The military high command said that the official documents, which supported the investigation of journalist Nicholas Casey, were misinterpreted and that they were only orders to increase operational results against illegal armed groups.
In a post on his Twitter account in May, Major General Martínez said he would be “ready to contribute with transparency and with the peace of mind of having always acted within the framework of the law” and added that “our Army and its commander are governed for the standards of respect and protection of the constitutional order ”.
The New York Times