The victims’ families were present from the first moment of their return to freedom, creating an environment that facilitated security and favored immediate emotional support for those who left families behind in the Catatumbo region, northern Colombia. According to the Ombudsman’s Office, this support was coordinated with national authorities and humanitarian organizations in the context of the release of 28 people, including five minor women, kidnapped by the National Liberation Army. The Office of the Ombudsman, the Catholic Church and representatives of the United Nations Mission in Colombia participated in this operation, which was carried out on Wednesday, and the formation of a humanitarian committee responsible for the operation, according to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Operation Restoring Freedom included 17 men and 11 women, including five minors, and was part of an inter-institutional strategy aimed at ensuring immediate physical protection and psychological containment. As stated by the Ombudsman’s Office, after the operation, an initial medical evaluation was organized for all those released, with priority for urgent health care given to minors and those who showed signs of physical disability. The majority of those released showed that their health condition was considered stable. However, state media confirmed that one of the cases required special attention due to an injury sustained during a period of deprivation of liberty.
In response to the handover of victims, Ombudsman Office teams continued to conduct individual monitoring and provide comprehensive support, both psychological and medical, to ensure the gradual recovery of those affected. This monitoring included providing information and support to families, and integrating the work into the context of government policies aimed at restoring rights and protecting the most vulnerable groups in conflict areas. According to information released by the Office of the Ombudsman, coordination between various humanitarian actors was crucial to overseeing respect for human rights throughout the intervention.
The Office of the Ombudsman stressed that these humanitarian actions seek beyond direct assistance to victims, and also serve as mechanisms to promote dialogue scenarios and enable pathways towards a negotiated solution to the ongoing armed conflict in the region. The organization stressed that the joint work of the Humanitarian Committee consisting of the national authorities, the Catholic Church and the United Nations Mission in Colombia was necessary to preserve the dignity and physical and emotional integrity of the released persons and their families.
According to the Office of the Ombudsman, the context in which the deprivation of liberty of these persons was recorded corresponds to a region historically characterized by the activity of illegal armed groups and the use of forced detention as an instrument of regional pressure and blackmail. The Ombudsman’s Office noted that the release of these 28 people was interpreted as progress in building conditions for strengthening dialogue mechanisms, although the institution warned that kidnapping remains a practice that erodes the social fabric and maintains high levels of impact on local communities.
Regarding the impact of liberalization, Iris Martin, Director of the Office of the Ombudsman, conveyed a message on social networks in which she emphasized the fundamental values of life and liberty. “War is wrong. Life and freedom are good,” the official said in a statement issued by the entity, reiterating the institutional commitment to humanitarian principles and the goal of seeking new liberations in the future.
The Commission has publicly reiterated, in line with its mandate, its categorical rejection of kidnapping, and has asked the ELN and other armed actors to stop these practices, which are considered incompatible with current national and international legislation on human rights. According to the Office of the Ombudsman, immediate access to physical and mental health services for those released, as well as the necessary guidance for their families to facilitate reunification and gradual recovery, was an essential part of the post-evaluation apparatus deployed by the state.
The Office of the General Secretariat of Grievances stressed that these protection and monitoring measures fall within the framework of what it described as a policy aimed at strengthening environments for reconciliation and limiting the continuation of armed conflict. According to the agency, strengthening comprehensive protection systems and continued support for victims are key to reducing the intensity of violence in the region and encouraging the development of new humanitarian interventions. The institutional appeal reiterated the urgent need to prioritize humanitarian action and dialogue, and asked relevant actors to direct efforts towards reducing war and promoting safer living conditions for civilian populations residing in areas subject to armed conflict.