Otto Guibovic on Puno: “If we are going to use the Armed Forces, then they must be with all their deterrent capabilities”

Former Army Commander Otto Gibovichin dialogue with RPP Newsspoke about recent events in Puno, where 4 soldiers drowned during a military operation in the Ilawa River.

In this regard, the former congressman pointed out that the commandos Armed Forces (FFAA.) Outposts in the region should be allowed to use “their weapons and equipment” to combat acts of vandalism that are taking place in the context of protests against the government and Congress.

“The reprehensible part of all this is that when the ability Policeaccording to the Constitution, you can hire Armed forces and they have weapons, that’s why they’re called that, and they can’t be used except with their weapons and equipment. If we are going to use Armed forces, we must do this with all their legal and constitutional possibilities,” he said.

He also pointed out that Armed forces they cannot be used as “pseudo-police” because it is “not their task”.

“The greatest quality that Armed forces it is their deterrence precisely because they use weapons. But if you humiliate him, if you take away the weapon and use it as a police force, it loses its deterrent and leads to more violence, more deaths,” he stressed.

Responsibility for death

The former parliamentarian indicated that the death of four soldiers should be investigated by the police. General Inspectorate of the Army; however, he observed that the “real culprits” were the protesters who blocked the bridge and the “aggressors”.

“The real perpetrators are at the forefront, the instigators, those who create the atmosphere of violence. Undoubtedly, it is necessary to carry out an investigation at the operational level to find out what happened. I understand that they were surrounded and threatened with huaracs and stones (…) They were threatened and forced to cross the river Ilawe in order to save their lives. This is information that I have first hand,” he explained.

“There is a responsibility for those who block the bridge and impede the passage Armed forces and the population in general. Let’s not get used to the fact that the bridge is blocked and nothing happens. They also bear a great responsibility,” he added.

Gibovich He did not point out the duties of the command of the army stationed in the area, but emphasized that the soldiers could be injured by the stones of the inhabitants.

“We need to investigate who gave the order, I can’t say anything against this, these are human lives (…) But there are people with polyconcussions, and in the water of the highlands you won’t get hurt on a polyconcussion, which, in my opinion, means that there were hurricanes, they threw stones , and that would encourage people to want to cross the river rather than the bridge,” he said.

Finally, the retired soldier considered that Government And Congress they must evaluate new measures against social upheaval and acts of vandalism.

“In order to defeat terrorism, we had to make adjustments to the legal framework, which is what is required today. Foreign interference must not be allowed (…) This is unacceptable. There is a campaign going on, an international attack that they want Peru to submit to 21st century socialism by force. And that requires a lot of logistics,” he said.

“We need to call on the FIU to (determine) cash flows. It is very easy to check everything that is stored in banks, but other types of intelligence must also be carried out to determine where the resources come from to support so many people who are not working. so long when people live from day to day,” he added.