In the Colombian town of El Carmelo, Sunday’s morning mass was interrupted by an armed attack against the police station, which led the priest Diego Tejada to take refuge civilians within the parish to prevent them from being victims of crossfire.
The attack of Sunday 14 has been a new episode of violence that shakes the department of Cauca, in the Southwest of Colombia, in which the central staff acts, the dissent of the FARC directed by Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernández, aka Iván Bite.
Receive the main news of ACI Press by WhatsApp and Telegram
It is increasingly difficult to see Catholic news on social networks. Subscribe to our free channels today:
Defense Minister Pedro Sánchez said this group took the local school to attack the police station. In addition, the Ministry of Defense indicated in his X account that there were simultaneous attacks to several bases and that two vehicles with explosives were detonated in the Carmelo.
In statements to Associated Press, Fr. Tejada said that the morning “it was very quiet, until it was interrupted by the bullets.” At that time, the priest celebrated in the Church the Mass of eight in the morning, with a great assistance of faithful.
“While in the Eucharist, the bullets begin, people start running. I invite you to keep calm, I invite you to go to the sacristy, the cural house, to take refuge. When we are in it, there is an explosion,” he said.
The authorities reported that a policeman and a young man died during the attack and several people were injured. The images show the police station with serious damage. The temple, the cural house and other homes were also affected.
Archbishop calls for violence
Mons. Omar Alberto Sánchez Cubillos, Archbishop of Popayán, where the corregimiento of El Carmelo is located, said that in the department of Cauca there is pain and dismay due to the loss of lives and material goods; But also because “we don’t see solutions, we don’t see that we evolve for better.”
The Prelate pointed out that “it is not only the first time that our temples end up affected.” He said that the parish had been remodeled and that the cural house has been affected almost 80%.
Mons. Sánchez called the armed groups to cease violence because this what he does is deny possible dialogues and “radicalize the war more”, in the middle of which the civilian population is always found.
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication of the National University of San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Press, I have been sent to cover the trips of Pope Francis to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synod of Sinodality in the Vatican in 2023.