August 12th 2023.
Manuel Ranoque, father of two of the four Indigenous children who survived a plane crash that killed their mother and two other adults and were found living in the Amazon jungle for 40 days, has recently been arrested. The Colombian prosecutor’s office confirmed the arrest, but no details were given on the reason.
Local media reports, however, suggest that Ranoque has been locked in a custody battle with the children’s maternal grandmother who accused him of domestic abuse against the children’s mother, Magdalena Mucutuy.
The four siblings had been missing since the Cessna 206 carrying seven people issued a mayday alert due to engine failure in the early hours of May 1. They were eventually found in the jungle after a massive rescue effort called Operation Hope was launched to save them.
Their miraculous survival captured imaginations around the world and Fidencio Valencia, one of the children’s uncles, told media outlet Noticias Caracol that they hid in tree trunks to protect themselves from the jungle's hazardous environment.
Astrid Eliana Caceres, director of the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare, said the state agency was working with the authorities to handle the case. When asked if he had assaulted his wife, Ranoque replied: ‘Verbally all of a sudden, yes. Physically, very little.’
The children have remained in the custody of Colombia’s child protection agency since leaving hospital after recovering from malnutrition and other ailments. It appears that the fight for custody will continue, as Manuel Ranoque and the maternal grandparents of the children remain engaged in a bitter battle.
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