Ecopetrol president Carlos Rodado said that Pastrana gave the orders after two union leaders were arrested on charges of planning to sabotage oil refining in the Cartagena plant

AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE
Monday, 23 August 1999
 

Soldiers occupy Colombian oil refineries ahead of strike

BOGOTA -- Colombian army soldiers on Monday took over the country's two main oil refineries ahead of a strike planned for next week, officials at the state-owned oil consortium Ecopetrol announced.

The soldiers, acting on orders from President Andres Pastrana, also took over sites that control the flow of crude along the country's oil lines.

Ecopetrol president Carlos Rodado said that Pastrana gave the orders after two union leaders were arrested on charges of planning to sabotage oil refining in the Cartagena plant.

The soldiers are there to make sure that the flow of oil -- estimated at 800,000 barrels a day -- continues to flow and be refined, Rodado said.

Hernando Hernandez, president of the Ecopetrol union, said that the move was a "new aggression" by the government. A general union membership meeting will be called to determine a response, he said.

Hernandez said that his union will be joining the national strike being planned for August 31 to protest against the government's economic policies.
 

Brazilian officials, traditionally sensitive to any foreign intervention in the strategically important Amazon region, reiterated that they were opposed to taking on any military role in Colombia.