Police and army say goodbye to substitute Michael León Aja

On Tuesday afternoon, August 15, the funeral took place of the NCO of the National Police, Michael Luis León Aja, a resident of Barranquilla and who was killed on Saturday, August 12 during an attack by Iván Mordisco’s dissidents in Morales, Cauca.

Relatives, friends and colleagues of the police, led by General Jorge Urquijo, commander of the Barranquilla Metropolitan Police, said their last goodbyes to the uniformed man. Funeral services were held at Jardines de la Eternidad Cemetery, on the road to Puerto Colombia.

Íngrid María Aja Martínez, mother of the deputy mayor, said that “there are no words that will give me back my son,” she said amid deep pain.

Subsequently, the uniformed man’s parent recalled talking to her son on the phone around 7:00 a.m. on Saturday, before the uniformed man’s work day began.

“I sent my son a message asking him to see his face, and he called me. He told me he was getting ready to go to work. That was the last we could speak. That was at 7:00 am,” he repeated.

It is worth noting that the attack that killed León Aja from Barranquilla took place in the middle of a patrol ambush. Apparently, Sub-Inspector León Aja was in the police vehicle with police officers José Laureano Orozco and Eymy Rodríguez, at a time when they were surprised by men of Iván Mordisco’s dissidents. In videos released on social networks, you can see the moment when officers are attacked in the middle of a road next to a mountainous terrain.

According to his resume, León Aja currently held the position of commander of the guard patrol and had arrived at the Cauca police force months before. He had seven awards, five of which were honorable mentions. He received more than 30 congratulations for his work within the institution. Moreover, there are no sanctions or suspensions.

Afterwards, the director of the National Police, General William René Salamanca, indicated that they are going after those responsible for the triple murder: “All our solidarity with their families, we will find the whereabouts of their killers, led by ‘Marlon Vásquez ‘, head of the front ‘Jaime Martínez’ of the dissidents, alias ‘El Paisa’, ‘Samper’ and ‘Martín’. Up to a $200 million reward to find them,” the senior official said.