Indigenous people free 17 soldiers held captive in Colombia

By Laura Gamba

BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Seventeen police officers who had been detained by members of the San Francisco Indigenous community in southern Colombia, were released on Thursday.

They were detained early Wednesday morning when they arrived in Toribio, in the department of Cauca, to capture a person who was wanted for the crimes of homicide and illegal possession and carrying of firearms.

The suspect was apparently wounded when he tried to escape and soldiers were immediately surrounded by more than 700 indigenous people, who prevented them from continuing with the arrest and detained them.

A video circulating on social media shows the military being threatened by several Indigenous people telling them that since they are no longer armed, they are going to “beat them badly”.

Defense Minister Ivan Velasquez has said that what happened is a "retention," denying that they were kidnapped.

"17 soldiers who were being held were released in Toribío, Cauca," Velasquez posted on Twitter after the release.

The opposition has criticized the government for refusing to use the word "kidnap" when referring to the event.

These events occurred on the same day that President Gustavo Petro dismissed the Police Director, General Henry Sanabria, a controversial officer who has been the subject of several disputes due to his religious fanaticism and controversial personal opinions.

However, the opposition claims that the reason why Sanabria left is that the officer did not feel supported by Petro, who has been critical of the military force even before coming into power in 2022.​​​​​​​