They got disoriented after walking about 24 kilometers. How is it that the children were found just five kilometers from the plane?Ī.
Yes, but my men know that when they encounter a threat, they have to act. But there is a bilateral ceasefire with the FARC dissidents.Ī. The terrain is manageable, but the narco-criminal groups operating there are a big problem. The next day, we were on the ground in San José, with a mission not just to locate the missing aircraft, but to assess the risks in the area. We canceled an ongoing operation I was overseeing in Medellín and focused on the missing plane. After receiving permission from General Giraldo, we deployed a unit on May 5. We’re a team that doesn’t shy away from a challenge. We knew it would be tricky, but our elite forces are trained for just this kind of mission, even if it falls outside of our usual scope. I spoke to the Air Force Commander and offered to help. The president’s concern was warranted – an aircraft carrying Indigenous people and four minors was in trouble. You had to go to the command post in San José del Guaviare, near the jungle.Ī. General Giraldo, who is in charge of the Armed Forces, asked me to lead the effort. My command of this unit was the reason I got the job, not because I was the most qualified. Four days passed with no success, so I began to realize that they might request our assistance. My initial hopes were that the occupants were alive and would soon be located through radio beacons and other means. We were in the midst of planning other special operations in Bogotá when the airplane crashed on May 1. Question: When were you assigned to lead the search for the children?Īnswer. EL PAÍS interviewed General Pedro Sánchez in his office at the military barracks in northern Bogotá to find out how those children survived in an environment so full of life, yet so dangerous. After 40 days, Lesly, Soleiny, Tien and Cristin were finally found.
The Indigenous guides who aided the search said it was an offering to the mother jungle for the safe return of the four siblings. He poured out cane liquor over the Amazon as they flew overhead looking for the children. Sánchez frequently listened to flamenco pop music while he led the search for the lost children. He issues orders calmly to the subordinates who constantly interrupt our conversation. There’s a book about socialism on his shelf.
During our interview, he excuses himself once to go to the bathroom and shed a few tears for his deceased parents, returning with red eyes. Sánchez is of average height and stocky build, with a face scarred by teenage acne. Pedro Sánchez isn’t exactly Rambo – he doesn’t fit the prototype of a special forces general.
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