The President of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, appointed, this Monday (21), retired Major General Luis Emilio Cardozo Santamaría as the new commander of the Army.
The government points out that the decision aims to “continue strengthening the nation's security and defense”, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
The appointment was made in coordination with the Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez Gómez, and involves the replacement of until now military commander Luis Ospina Gutiérrez, the statement adds.
Cardozo Santamaría has a master's degree in security and defense and in higher military studies, according to the Ministry of Defense.
The institution added that the major general has more than 35 years of experience in the Army, was commander of a Division and Military Engineers and is originally from Valle del Cauca, a region where the government seeks to reinforce the deployment of military personnel to combat the insecurity that is ravaging the country.
Before the announcement of Cardozo Santamaría's appointment, authorities reported the detonation of a motorcycle loaded with explosives in the municipality of Jamundí.
The police reported that two police officers, three minors and an adult civilian were slightly injured in the attack and attributed the events to dissident groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrilla group.
The dissidents are made up of several groups that did not accept the peace agreements that the FARC signed with the Colombian State in 2016.
The Colombian Army later reported on its X account – formerly Twitter – that its troops are positioned in Jamundí and added that it has a telephone line for citizens to report possible terrorist acts.
After the attack in Jamundí, Petro said he ordered the military leadership to go to Cauca and install a permanent security council there to coordinate activities to confront those who continue to “terrorize the population with terrorist acts”.
Source: CNN Brasil
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