Colombian Army Commander General Eduardo Zapateiro. Photo: Guillermo Torres Reina.
The Colombian military has been a fierce attacker of Gustavo Petro.
On Tuesday, June 28, General Eduardo Zapateiro, commander of the Colombian Army, has announced his retirement after 40 years of service.
In an official letter Zapateiro announced that he will retire on July 20, before President-elect Gustavo Petro takes office. The letter reads, “I will say goodbye to the Colombian people, thanking all my soldiers for all their hard work.”
This retirement was considered inevitable by many, given that the army commander had expressed strong criticism towards Petro, who would soon become his chief.
Con boina de comando y voz fuerte el General Eduardo Zapateiro @COMANDANTE_EJC anuncia su retiro voluntario del @COL_EJERCITO
Su renuncia era inevitable después de sus declaraciones en campaña contra Gustavo Petro hoy presidente.
Anuncia discurso de despedida el 20 de julio. pic.twitter.com/vLMUVR0tfF
— El Expediente (@EIExpedienteCol) June 28, 2022
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General Zapateiro’s public expression of criticism of Petro started after retired army official Alexander Chala Saenz had tweeted about the death of six soldiers and the wounding of five in Antioquia, by the notorious paramilitary group Clan del Golfo, and then candidate Petro had responded to it.
Seis Soldados asesinados en AntioquĂa y cinco más heridos en una emboscada perpetrada por el Clan del Golfo, organizaciĂłn criminal con la que más de un alto mando a salido involucrado con nexos con Narcotráfico, los muy hijueputas traquetiando mientras a los soldados los Matan.
— 🇨🇴SARGENTO DEL EJÉRCITO NACIONAL DE COLOMBIA🇨🇴 (@SARGENTOCHALA) April 20, 2022
Petro responded to the tweet by asserting that “the leadership gets corrupted when politicians aligned with drug traffickers appoint the high commanders.”
Mientras los soldados son asesinados por el clan del golfo, algunos de los generales están en la nómina del Clan.
La cúpula se corrompe cuando son los politiqueros del narcotráfico los.que terminan ascendiendo a los generales. https://t.co/4Ss4qnPDOm
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) April 20, 2022
Zapateiro, in response, implied that Petro was denouncing the death of the soldiers for political reasons.
No hay a quien le duela más la muerte de un soldado que a los que portamos el camuflado y, por supuesto, a sus familias y a la patria misma, pero su sacrificio supremo por el paĂs no deberĂa ser usado en narrativas de campaña polĂtica. (1)
— General Luis Mauricio Ospina GutiĂ©rrez (@COMANDANTE_EJC) April 22, 2022
(Ăšltimas Noticias) by Ariadna Eljuri
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/GMS/SC
