The president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, informed this Friday of the detention by the Army of alias 'Firu', a prominent member of the National Liberation Army (ELN) who, according to the president himself, would have been chosen by the armed organization to prepare an attack against him.
"Yesterday, in Ocaña, Norte de Santander, our National Police, through intelligence and the DIJIN, in coordination with Operation Sparta, captured this member of the Camilo Torres Restrepo Front of the ELN, specialized in sniper actions. Intelligence information indicates that he would have been designated by the General Staff of the Eastern War Front to participate in the planning and execution of an armed action against me," the president declared in a post on his social media.
The capture took place in Ocaña, a municipality in northeastern Colombia, in a joint operation between the state's intelligence services and the Criminal Investigation and Interpol Directorate (DIJIN). According to De La Espriella, 'Firu' was part of the Camilo Torres Front, linked to the ELN, and was specialized as a sniper, which would have motivated his designation as the alleged executor of an attack against the head of state.
Furthermore, the president has indicated that the arrested individual appears in the authorities' investigations as the main suspect in the murder of three police officers in Río de Oro, in the northeast of the country and near Ocaña, although he did not specify when the events occurred.
"He is also identified as responsible for the homicide of three police officers in Río de Oro, Cesar, and for participating in actions using snipers, drones with explosives, and explosive devices against our Public Force. He has an arrest warrant for aggravated homicide against a protected person and for the manufacture, trafficking, or possession of firearms," he clarified.
The far-right leader has taken the opportunity to insist on the firmness of his security strategy, in contrast to the line of his predecessor, Gustavo Petro, who opted to engage in negotiations with the guerrillas, and has sent a direct message to armed groups: "Colombia does not kneel before terrorism."
"To the terrorists of the ELN I say: I am not afraid of you. The threats against my life will not stop the state's offensive. On the contrary, they strengthen my determination to combat them until they submit to the empire of the Constitution and the law," he declared.