Petro dismisses Henry Sanabria, his homophobic and ultra-religious police chief

It was a matter of time before someone who led the Colombian Police with a Bible in hand was struck down. The head of that institute appointed by Gustavo Petro, a homophobic and ultra-religious man who claimed to fight crime in the form of the devil with the help of God, fell this Wednesday. The president of Colombia announced at the march and on Twitter that the services provided were qualified. It has been the elegant way that Petro has chosen to fire an official who has been staggering for a month, rejected when the conservative was abortive and guilty of HIV among the agents. From that moment, Sanabria’s days were numbered.

The president, however, stood his ground and did not remove him then. He wanted to show that he is not influenced by the environment when making a decision like this. A month later it was already impossible to keep him in a first-level position in the Government. The outcry was general. Once the congressmen signed a letter calling for his removal. “Colombia has a police general from medieval times. He is a person who denominationally runs the institution. He was an activist against the exercise of women’s civil rights, in addition to their open discrimination against the diverse population, ”representative Jennifer Pedraza, one of the signatories, recently said in this newspaper.

Behind the chair that Sanabria occupied in the meeting room of the National Police, a crucifix protruded. On the table, a statuette of the Virgin with the Child Jesus in her arms. And below, another print of the Virgin and a ceramic of St. Joseph Sleeping, popular among believers since Pope Francis began to profess faith in it. It was a reflection of his enormous devotion. Since he was appointed by Petro in August of last year, his positions against abortion, equal marriage, free unions and euthanasia came to light, all of them rights allowed today in Colombia and that in fact build consensus.

For this reason, it is possible that a progressive government places someone like that in charge of the Police, a very sensitive position, especially since the performance of the previous general in charge, Jorge Luis Vargas. During his tenure, the Police had a highly controversial performance during the 2021 protests, in which more than 80 people appeared. A series of videos shows officers shooting unarmed civilians at point-blank range. Petro, upon coming to power, wanted to show a different spirit with the public forces and wanted to change the doctrine of the predominant internal enemy in the barracks and police stations, which consists of seeing the enemy in social organizations and leftist movements. That way of seeing things watered the protests with blood.

To change that, among others, Sanabria, 51 years old and with a career as a lawyer, was appointed. From very early on it became clear that his archaic form was incompatible with his position. His statements were so strange that it was hard to believe that they were true. When you say that you are talking about WhatsApp in criticism against the celebration of Halloween, do not forget to say “satanic strategy to induce children into the occult”. He said that he redoubled efforts on that date to protect children from being kidnapped and killed in satanic rites. There were no statistics and no case at hand to show that this was true.

Days later it was learned that he had asked his troops not to have relationships outside of marriage. Sanabria was both police chief, priest, and marriage counselor. “It’s always a coincidence that a person who fell for a little, fell for a lot,” he said on W Radio. Shortly after he made sure that homosexuality was a personal decision. Sanabria, although he claimed to respect the Colombian Constitution, dreamed of a religious police in the style of some Islamist countries.

On 8-M, Women’s Day, he was not more restrained. “A discreet woman is a gift from the Lord; an educated person is priceless. A modest woman is the greatest charm; nothing is worth as much as a reserved person ”, written on the Twitter account, which she used to spread religious messages. According to him, on International Women’s Day we must highlight the importance they have for men. “A woman’s charm makes her husband happy, and if she is sensible, she makes him prosper,” he added, quoting a Bible verse.

However, the final bombshell was yet to come. In an interview with the magazine semester He gave some crazy answers. Sanabria narrated exorcisms in public force operations as part of his fight against “the devil.” “The existence of the devil is certain. I have seen it, I have perceived it, for many it is a fable and others do not believe. And that’s okay because, let’s say, the devil says so, he denies himself,” he said. Public opinion then wondered what kind of person was in charge of the institution.

Petro, stubborn, did not strike him down at this moment. He has waited a month to drop it and appoint William Salamanca, a mayor-general of the reserve with more than 37 years of experience, in his place. He has removed him as and when he wanted, despite the fact that Sanabria had left him no other option from the beginning. He wanted to rule the Police like an ayatollah, but he found himself in the society of the 21st century.

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