The Popular Revolutionary Movement (MRP) issued a press release yesterday stating that the nine persons accused of the Andino shopping mall attack are not in any way affiliated with their organization and condemn their capture. They also accused President Juan Manuel Santos and his Attorney General, Néstor Martínez, of falsely arresting and prosecuting innocents in order to provide the public with a prompt scapegoat.
The group said in a statement that the Colombian President and his Attorney General are manipulating an impartial judiciary with political pressure in order to further their own self-interests.
“They are creating a solution for attacks that they themselves manufactured to create fear among the public, and are selectively targeting people”, the MRP statement read.
The MRP demanded that the government free these nine alleged terrorists and to tell the public that they have nothing to do with their organization.
General Jorge Nieto, Chief of the Colombian National Police, responded immediately and assured the public that these nine persons are, in fact, directly connected to the Andino Mall attack.
“The evidence demonstrates that these subjects belong to the self-designated Popular Revolutionary Movement and that they are responsible for this attack”, said Nieto. The statement was supported by the Prosecutor’s Office.
The Popular Revolutionary Movement appeared on the scene in 2015, placing flags and flyers various sectors of Bogotá. Afterward, a video was uploaded to the internet, in which the MRP defined themselves as an insurgency against President Santos and Ex-President Uribe’s government, as well as against the peace agreements recently signed with the FARC.
