The commander of the Colombian army has avoided the image of seeing himself walking alongside Gustavo Petro on the day of his inauguration as president, in just over a month.
General Eduardo Zapateiro, the representative of the toughest and most warlike wing of the armed forces, has announced his retirement this Tuesday.
Petro said a day before in an interview with this newspaper that he would dismiss him and change the entire leadership.
“This dome was very imbued by the political line of the Executive that ends (that of Iván Duque).
But this path is unsustainable and makes the public force itself a victim, which has been led to perpetrate Dantesque acts against human rights.
What we propose will lead the public force to a greater democratic strengthening”, said Petro.
The dispute between Petro and Zapateiro comes from afar.
In the middle of the campaign, in an unusual act, the general publicly confronted the person he was then a candidate on Twitter.
Although this outburst was unconstitutional, he received the support of Duque.
In fact, in an interview published today by the newspaper El Tiempo, the outgoing president insists that the military man responded to some criticism from Petro and that according to his criteria that is not participating in politics.
The most reputable constitutionalists in the country, however, agreed that it was indeed an unacceptable interference.
The relationship between the institutions and the military is a complex issue in Colombia.
The country has been immersed in an endless internal war, which has given the uniformed men extraordinary power.
In fact, until the nineties they controlled the Ministry of Defense.
As in many other countries, conservative views prevail within it and the left is viewed with suspicion.
The peace agreement of President Juan Manuel Santos divided the troops.
Zapateiro, something that people usually remember, initially supported the demobilization of the guerrillas, but over time he became a furious critic.
Zapateiro has had erratic behavior.
He said goodbye with deep condolences to Jhon Jairo Velásquez,
Popeye
, one of Pablo Escobar's henchmen, author of dozens of murders, without anyone to date being able to explain why he did it.
On television he gave a fiery speech that could be intimidating.
He now leaves the armed forces: _ "After 40 years of service I will say goodbye to the Colombian people, thanking all my soldiers with all my heart."
One of the biggest enigmas of Petro's presidency is going to be his relationship with the military.
As a politician, he has been very critical of the vision of the internal enemy that predominates in the barracks.
For decades, he has clashed with other Colombians in the form of guerrilla or drug gangs, sometimes going overboard and violating human rights.
They are responsible for the false positives, the murder of 6,402 innocents who passed themselves off as guerrillas to collect a premium.
A few months ago, in an army operation in Putumayo, several civilians died under suspicious circumstances.
Zapeteiro's presence, in this scenario of transition to a progressive government, was unsustainable.
The newspaper El Espectador published an editorial to that effect: "Isn't it time to retire, General Zapateiro?"
.
Resignation of General Eduardo Zapateiro
Resignation of Genreal Eduardo ZapateiroVideo: rrss
Petro has the idea of tackling corruption within the army, where he believes extremist factions operate.
“There are extreme right-wing currents that must be eliminated.
Some are proclaiming coups and things like that.
But look, within the army there are no factions friendly to Gustavo Petro, there are factions friendly to the Constitution.
And that is what needs to be developed, an army that obeys the Constitution, regardless of the governments that pass,” says the president.
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