International • • • 🌿 Progressive

Montañas verdes con niebla y un camino rural vacío al amanecer en el Caquetá
Paisaje montañoso del Caquetá, departamento donde fue secuestrado el ganadero Jaime Cutiva. · Imagen generada para EPM

Rancher, 67, shown in chains in Calarcá dissidents' proof-of-life video

Jaime Cutiva, a 67-year-old cattle rancher from Caquetá kidnapped by dissidents led by alias Calarcá, appeared chained by the neck in a proof-of-life video…

--- The context --- Kidnapping has shown its harshest face again in Caquetá. A proof-of-life video sent to the family of a cattle rancher held by dissidents under alias Calarcá shows him chained by the neck, an image that revives the worst years of captivity in Colombia and has sparked widespread outrage across the country. In the department, the abduction is said to be purely extortion-driven, because the victim is a well-known rancher in the region. The dissident group, however, has not yet commented on the nature of the crime. --- The facts --- Jaime Cutiva, a 67-year-old cattle rancher from the department of Caquetá, was kidnapped by FARC dissidents led by alias Calarcá, according to reporting from two weeks ago. In the proof-of-life video sent to his family he appears in chains, and in a short message he addresses his wife, his children, his friends and his relatives, saying that he is in the mountains of Colombia. A post attributed to Melquisedec Torres placed the kidnapping 10 days ago in San Vicente del Caguán and described the video, in his assessment, as proof of torture, because the rancher is shown chained. The two timelines do not match, and no authority cited in the available reporting has reconciled them. --- The positions --- The national government and political leaders have called on the dissidents to free not only Jaime Cutiva, but everyone they are holding. The images, in which the captive appears chained by the neck and hands, have been described as cruel and inhuman treatment. The National Center for Historical Memory recalled that such treatment is a violation of International Humanitarian Law. --- What remains unknown --- There has been no statement from the dissident group about the kidnapping or its nature. No concrete demands, contacts with the family or path toward release have been reported, and the rancher's exact whereabouts remain unknown beyond his own reference to the mountains of Colombia. --- Unanswered questions --- When and under what exact circumstances was Jaime Cutiva kidnapped? What demands, if any, have his captors made to the family? What concrete steps are the authorities taking to secure his release and that of the other captives? --- EPM analysis --- Alias Calarcá, whose real name is Alejandro Díaz Mendoza, was designated a peace facilitator by former president Gustavo Petro under his total peace policy. He left that program after a scandal broke over leaked information and alleged links with state bodies, and he is now considered one of the country's leading criminal chiefs at the head of the Estado Mayor Conjunto. 📌 EPM Take: In EPM's view, displaying a 67-year-old man chained by the neck is not proof of life but an exhibition of cruelty that violates International Humanitarian Law and that no peace process can tolerate. That the man responsible was once a peace facilitator and now leads a structure that kidnaps for extortion confirms the failure of unconditional indulgence. The only proper response is the immediate release of every captive and sustained state pressure until it happens, with no rewards for those who turn human dignity into a bargaining commodity for their own ends today.
📤 Share on Telegram

¿Te gustó este artículo? Recibe cobertura global en tu correo.

Suscríbete gratis / Subscribe free