It was a big and painful misunderstanding. President Gustavo Petro has admitted that he was wrong and that the four children who disappeared in the jungle have not been found, despite telling the country so yesterday. “I’m sorry about what happened. The Armed Forces and Indigenous communities will continue their relentless search to bring the country the news it is waiting for. At this point there is no other priority than to continue searching until you find it. “The children’s lives are the most important thing,” Petro corrected on his Twitter account.
The President’s announcement on Wednesday afternoon moved the whole country. It was the story of a miracle: the indigenous children who disappeared after a plane crash that killed three adults – including the mother of the four children – were alive and well after 17 days in the Amazon in the Caqueta region. The President was informed by Family Welfare, the organization responsible for the protection of minors. This facility had collected the information from members of the remote communities in the area, ensuring the minors were found alive. Petro enthusiastically shared it on the networks. In reality, the information had not been verified and suspicions spread throughout the day that it might be false as the armed forces were skeptical of the announcement.
This isn’t the first time Petro has informed the nation of something that isn’t true. On January 1 of this year he announced that the ELN, the guerrillas with whom he is negotiating a peace process, had accepted a ceasefire that in fact does not exist. The guerrillas disagreed with the president and to date no agreement has been reached.
[Noticia de última hora. Habrá actualización en breve]
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