a citizen of Guatemala He had initially arrived in Cali for personal reasons and then moved to a farm in Santander de Quilichao, in northern Cauca, last November 23. She arrived with a friend.
However, armed men kidnapped him there on December 6 and kept him confined in a house until, in a transfer in a vehicle between Cauca and the south of the Valley to reach Cali, he began to ask for help and signal to police officers at a checkpoint, when they were preparing to take money from banks. At that moment he started to rescue him.
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According to the commander of the Cali Metropolitan Police, Colonel José Daniel Gualdrón, in the Santa Elena neighborhood, in the southeast of the Valle del Cauca capital, uniformed personnel from the National Police Intervention Unit (Unipol) carried out searches on the night of Friday, December 23, and other procedures on people and vehicles in the zone.
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“They were setting up a checkpoint as a strategy to provide greater and better security conditions for citizens within the framework of the festivities that take place these days,” said the officer.
“When carrying out one of these requirements, a distress signal is heard coming from said vehicle, which is why the operational safety protocols were activated,” he continues.
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Two men were on board the car. One of them stated at that time that he was a victim of kidnapping.
Immediately, the person driving the vehicle was captured and made available to the competent authority. Seven cell phones were seized.
It was not the first time that this citizen visited the country. According to Colonel Gualdrón, he has been doing it for 30 years.
When he was kidnapped, his captors demanded more than 60,000 dollars, that is, more than 284 million pesos. The authorities reported his kidnapping 18 days ago, Gualdrón said.
When he was kidnapped, his captors demanded more than 60,000 dollars, that is, more than 284 million pesos. The complaint of his kidnapping was known by the authorities 18 days ago, Gualdrón said
The Guatemalan was transferred from northern Cauca to Cali because, apparently, bank transactions were going to be made to pay for his release.
At that moment, the kidnapped man and one of his captors, a robust man of African descent, arrived at the checkpoint in Santa Elena, where the path to his freedom began, asking for help.
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The Unified Action Group for Personal Liberty and Anti-Extortion (Gaul) carries out the corresponding investigations regarding the case and coordinates with the Guatemalan authorities for the return of this foreigner who had come before Christmas to see friends and whose trip turned into a nightmare.
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Now, the Police, together with the National and Guatemalan governments, are looking for a way for the foreigner to return so that he can meet with his family at the end of the year to leave this traumatic episode behind.
CAROLINA BOHORQUEZ
TIME CORRESPONDENT
CALI