Colombian Ministers To Explain Mercenary Operations Abroad

Colombia's Senate on Tuesday approved to examine the involvement of ex-military personnel in mercenary operations around the world.

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For this purpose, Defense Minister Diego Molano, Foreign Affairs Minister Martha Lucia Ramirez, and Private Surveillance and Security Superintendent Orlando Clavijo must appear before Congress to explain the measures adopted by President Ivan Duque to prevent the participation of retired military personnel in activities that may infringe on the sovereignty of other States. The date of their appearance will be announced in the next few days.

Senator Ivan Cepeda will also send a request to President Duque for the Colombian State to officially apologize to the Haitian people for the participation of mercenaries in the assassination of President Jovenel Moise on July 7.

The activities of Colombian mercenaries abroad have generated concern in Latin American countries. From Venezuela, Foreign Affairs Minister Jorge Arreaza recalled that such mercenary industry is an economic activity supported and protected by the Colombian State.

"Nothing surprises us anymore from the Colombian government. Without any modesty, they now come out in open defense of the mercenaries who assassinated a Head of State," he tweeted, adding that "there are Colombian mercenaries in the Middle East and North Africa."

Venezuelan Ambassador to the United Nations Samuel Moncada also denounced that the Colombian mercenaries who assassinated the Haitian President "have at their service the Colombian State and its propaganda apparatus, which has a long experience in laundering criminal reputations."

These statements come after the Colombian Vice President met with relatives of the ex-military detained in Haiti. In this public meeting, she indicated that the Duque administration would provide legal assistance to the detainees, adding that "we will not leave them alone in this process".