Colombia: former Ecuadorian police officer wanted for femicide was arrested

A former police officer allegedly involved in a femicide that shook Ecuador was arrested on Friday in Colombiareported the Ecuadorian government.

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“The wonderful work of @PoliciaEcuador, @PoliciaColombia and the Colombian Armed Forces managed to capture Germán Cáceres, in #Colombia”indicated the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, on Twitter.

Caceres “sought for the femicide of María Belén Bernal, he has been located and captured,” said President Guillermo Lasso, who expressed his appreciation for the joint work of Colombia and Ecuador.

“Once in the country, you will receive the full weight of the law”added by the same social network.

Germán Cáceres, wanted for the femicide of María Belén Bernal, has been located and captured. My appreciation for the joint work between @policeecuador, @FiscaliaEcuador and the Colombian Prosecutor’s Office. Once in the country, you will receive the full weight of the law. pic.twitter.com/jscs6i7s8M

— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) December 31, 2022

Cáceres, who reached the rank of lieutenant, is the main suspect in the murder of his wife, lawyer María Belén Bernal, 34.

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The woman disappeared in September after entering a police academy on the outskirts of Quito to visit her partner.

The body was found ten days later on a hill near the training school for police officers, an institution that separated Cáceres after he became a fugitive.

The case, which scandalized Ecuador, emerged as the new flag of the fight against femicide in the nation, in which some 70 women have been victims of femicide in 2022, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.

However, feminist organizations maintain that until November there were 276 cases in the country, with 18 million inhabitants.

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The event led to the dismissal of the then Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, who also held the general command of the Police.

Cáceres, captured in the Colombian sector of Palomino, “will answer for his actions,” said the current police commander, General Fausto Salinas.

Elizabeth Otavalo, Bernal’s mother, calls the case a “State crime” because her daughter died inside a police institution, for which Lasso even asked “forgiveness because this should never happen, much less in a public building where they form who should protect.

“I am fighting against a monster that is the State (…) because the institutions that are there to protect our rights neither accompany nor help,” Otavalo recently told AFP.

Source: Elcomercio

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I am Jack Morton and I work in 24 News Recorder. I mostly cover world news and I have also authored 24 news recorder. I find this work highly interesting and it allows me to keep up with current events happening around the world.