The 78 police officers and six employees of an oil company held since Thursday March 2 by demonstrators in the south-west of Colombia have been released, President Gustavo Petro announced on Friday.
“
Thanks to the efforts of the Ministers of Defense and Interior, the members of the police and the employees of the oil company held in San Vicente del Caguan Caqueta have been released,” the left-wing leader announced on Twitter the next day
. violent protests that left two people dead.
Defuse the crisis
Officials from the Colombian government, the ombudsman's office and the attorney general's office visited the region on Friday morning to defuse the crisis.
Protests against oil company Emerald Energy began in November.
The protesters accuse the company of not having kept certain promises made to the inhabitants of the region, such as the construction of infrastructure and 40 km of paved roads.
“
I myself will go to dialogue with the peasants on their needs, their complaints, their claims.
(...) Violent actions destroy not only the possibility of having a progressive popular government, but also the paths to peace
,” added Gustavo Petro in a statement sent to the press.
He also urged justice "
to investigate and identify the criminals who will have to be tried
".
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Protests against British-based oil company Emerald Energy, a subsidiary of Chinese state group Sinochem, ended in clashes with law enforcement on Thursday.
In addition to the individuals detained, a peasant and a policeman were killed and several people were injured, according to the Office of the People's Defender.
“Murders, kidnappings and other acts of violence”
"
We appreciate that the parties have engaged in a process of dialogue that will put an end to the tension generated by the clashes between the peasant communities and the forces of order
", underlined the office of the mediator.
According to the institution responsible for ensuring respect for human rights in Colombia, "
the people received were in good physical condition
".
Videos released by local media showed a fire and groups of protesters armed with sticks dragging a policeman to the ground who begged them not to beat him.
The prosecutor's office announced that it would investigate "
murders, kidnappings and other acts of violence
" committed on the sidelines of the demonstrations.