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Defense Minister Guillermo Botero, Bogota, March 7, 2019. Juan BARRETO / AFP

A Colombian army general apologized publicly after admitting that soldiers " killed " Dimar Torres, a former FARC guerrilla who participated in the peace process in the country, on Monday (April 21st).

" They did not kill a civilian, they killed a member of the community. Members of the armed forces killed him, "said General Diego Muñoz, Chief of the Vulcano Force, at a public meeting held Saturday (April 27th) in Catatumbo (north-west), on the border with Venezuela, where crime was committed. " I regret with all my heart and on behalf of the 4,000 men whom I have the honor to command, I apologize to you. It should not have happened and it is not linked to military action, "said the soldier.

The murder of Dimar Torres sparked strong opposition protests on Sunday (April 28th), including the FARC, the party to the peace agreement signed in 2016, which led to the disarmament of some 7,000 combatants . The opposition has demanded the resignation of Defense Minister Guillermo Botero, who is accused of reporting a story that a corporal suspected of murder, Daniel Gomez, believed that Dimar Torres had died in a fight. that he was trying to take his weapon.

Homicide confirmed by the prosecution

The prosecution considers that it was a homicide. Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez reported Sunday that the autopsy and technical examinations revealed that the former guerrilla was shot for four bullets and that he was going to demand Corporal Daniel Gomez be captured " for homicide ." Martinez did not associate other soldiers with the investigation, despite villagers claiming that several soldiers had attempted to bury the body of the former guerrillas near where the soldiers were camped. The inhabitants, who were taking part of the army, according to images recorded on their mobile phones and broadcast on social networks, discovered the half-dug grave, then the bloody body of the ex-rebel aged 34 years.

For his part, Defense Minister Guillermo Botero rejected the prospect of a resignation and defended himself against the opposition's accusations. " I do not have to resign, I'm not involved in any event (...) The version I gave was the formal truth of the time and was the one that Corporal Gómez gave, " he said. he said in a statement to the media. A total of 128 FARC ex-combatants have been murdered since the signing of the peace agreement in November 2016 until early April, according to the National Agency for Reincorporation and Standardization.

( With AFP )