(Bogotá) A dissident guerrilla from the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) denied in a statement on Wednesday having threatened the families of the four indigenous children who had escaped from the jungle after their plane crashed.
1er May, Lesly (13 years old), Soleiny (9 years old), Tien Noriel (5 years old), Cristin (1 year old), as well as their mother, had fled the jungle area known as Araracuara under the threat of the guerrilla, according to Manuel Ranoque, the father of the four children.
The small plane in which they had embarked was found in mid-May with its nose crushed to the ground in the middle of thick vegetation, in the department of Caqueta, in the south of the country.
The three adults on board, the mother, a relative and the pilot died in the crash. The children wandered the jungle for 40 days before being found on Friday.
“It is not true, and we do not know the reasons for the declarations of the father of the children when he affirms in front of the media that the children and his wife were fleeing the region. […] because of threats from our units,” said the guerrillas known as the Central Staff (EMC).
The southern region of Colombia is known to be home to this guerrilla who refused the 2016 peace agreement between the FARC and the government. Colombian President Gustavo Petro has been trying to negotiate with these rebels for several months.
“We ask Mr. Manuel Ranoque […] to clarify his remarks […] so as not to harm this attempt at a peace process,” the rebels added in the statement.
“I am threatened by the Front Carolina Ramirez” of the dissidence of the EMC, had notably assured the media Manuel Ranoque shortly after the rescue of the children, without however specifying the reasons for these threats.