Colombian President Gustavo Petro, on Friday (March 3) announced that he and his ministers have negotiated the release of the 88 people taken hostage by the indigenous and rural demonstrators of the country’s southern Caqueta province. This comes a day after violent protests erupted against the Chinese-state-owned company subsidiary, Emerald Energy where around 79 officers and nine workers at the oilfield were taken hostage and two people were killed.
“Thanks to the efforts of the Minister of Defense and the Interior, all members of the police and oil company officials held in San Vicente del Caguan, Caqueta, have been released,” said Petro on Twitter. Following the announcement, Petro also released a video, promising to hold a “dialogue” with the community “about their needs, their complaints.”
Gracias a las gestiones del ministro de defensa y del interior han sido liberados todos los miembros de la policía y los funcionarios de la petrolera retenidos en San Vicente del Caguán, Caqueta.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) March 3, 2023
He added, “Violent action practically destroys not just the possibility of having a grassroots progressive government but also the very paths to peace”. Petro also offered condolences to those harmed during the demonstrations and condemned the violence that took place on Thursday calling it counterproductive.
One police officer and a civilian were killed during the protests while 79 officers and nine Emerald Energy workers were taken hostage by the rural communities who demanded that the company help fix roads in the region as well as provide compensation for environmental damage caused to the surrounding area. The Colombian president also called for an investigation into the two deaths where a civilian and a police officer, later identified as 39-year-old Ricardo Arley Monroy, were shot dead.
The country’s police, on Thursday, said violence erupted in a rural area of the San Vicente del Caguan municipality where an Emerald Energy oil field was attacked and set on fire by the protesters. Notably, protests are not rare in the country as communities have pushed for companies to build infrastructure like roads and schools.
After the protests, several government officials including human rights ombudsman Carlos Camargo, defence minister Ivan Velasquez, and interior minister Alfonso Prada visited San Vicente del Caguan to meet with protesters, as per media reports. Subsequently, during the negotiations, Prada said that government dialogue would only take place after the release of all the hostages by Friday morning.
Around 4,000 people took part in the protests on Thursday, said a spokesperson from the community to Al Jazeera. The spokesperson who was not identified in the media report also denied claims of the presence of armed groups calling it an attempt to delegitimise the protesters’ demands.
(With inputs from agencies)
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