Colombia’s devout Catholic head of police is fired after admitting he uses EXORCISMS to tackle crime and claiming cops used it in operation to kill Pablo Escobar
- Colombia’s police chief Henry Sanabria said he used exorcisms to tackle crime
- Sanabria also expressed his opposition to abortion which is legal in Colombia
- The devout Catholic has since been fired by the Colombian government
Colombia’s devout Catholic head of police has been fired after admitting he used exorcisms to tackle crime and hunt down drug lords.
Henry Sanabria, who took over as chief in August 2022, was dismissed by the Colombian government yesterday, just weeks after his controversial interview.
Speaking in mid-March, Sanabria sparked a scandal by admitting to an interviewer that exorcisms and other religious practices have helped police throughout the last 50 years of armed conflict, including in an operation to kill Medellin Cartel kingpin Pablo Escobar in 1993.
The religious police chief also expressed his opposition to abortion – which is legal in Colombia, a secular South American nation with Catholic traditions – and to the use of condoms.
During the interview in his office, Sanabria was surrounded by crucifixes, effigies of the Virgin Mary and other Catholic symbols.
Colombia’s devout Catholic head of police Henry Sanabria (pictured) has been fired after admitting he used exorcisms to tackle crime and hunt down drug lords
During the interview in his office, Sanabria was surrounded by crucifixes, effigies of the Virgin Mary and other Catholic symbols
Sanabria even admitted that exorcisms were used by police in the past to bring down notorious drug lord Escobar and guerrilla leader Alfonso Cano.
‘The existence of the devil is certain. I have seen it, I have perceived it,’ he said in an interview with local media.
He also said in one operation a police officer had been able to kill a criminal by ‘praying while shooting’.
Sanabria later discussed using a crucifix to protect him and his officers from protests against Ivan Duque’s government.
‘When the boys from the front line passed through the front, there were about 34 of them, I managed to count them that time. I took out my crucifix and put it on top,’ he said.
When asked why he took a crucifix out, he said: ‘Because behind every violent action there is a presence of evil.’
Paying tribute to the police chief, leftist President Gustavo Petro wrote on Twitter, without giving further details about his dismissal: ‘I appreciate General Henry Sanabria’s hard work’ for the Colombian police.
Petro had previously only given partial support to his police chief, saying: ‘We know about the general’s beliefs, but what we are trying to do is ensure that those beliefs do not affect the rules, it’s that simple.
‘I think he has been respectful, as far as we know.’
The religious police chief also expressed his opposition to abortion – which is legal in Colombia
Sanabria even admitted that exorcisms were used by police in the past to bring down notorious drug lord Escobar (pictured) and guerrilla leader Alfonso Cano
A police official speaking on condition of anonymity to a local media outlet said Sanabria has been urging his subordinates to attend religious retreats.
Sanabria was recently implicated for negligence after a violent protest against an oil company in which two people died and 78 law enforcement officials were held hostage for days by protesters.
According to a government official, Sanabria’s ouster was not ‘based on this operation’ or his religious beliefs.
‘The president himself has told the country very clearly that we respect freedom of thought, freedom of religion – not only for General Sanabria, but for all members of the institution and all Colombians,’ Interior Minister Alfonso Prada told reporters.
Sanabria will be replaced by retired general William Salamanca, who has been serving as consul general in Miami.
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