A father in Colombia, Manuel Ranoque, has been arrested following the miraculous survival of his four children, aged 1, 4, 9, and 13, who spent 40 days alone in the Amazon jungle after a fatal plane crash.
The single-engine plane, carrying Ranoque's children and their mother, Magdalena Mucutuy, along with two other adults, crashed into the Colombian jungle on May 1. Sadly, none of the adults survived the crash.
However, the four children, who are members of the indigenous Huitoto people, managed to survive until they were rescued on June 9. They sustained themselves by eating cassava flour found in luggage, fruits from the jungle, and care packages left by rescue teams.
Shortly after the children were found, Mucutuy's maternal relatives accused Ranoque of abusing her during their seven-year marriage. Mucutuy's father claimed, "Once, he hit my daughter with a machete," and added, "Another time, [the eldest child] hid in the forest with her siblings for three days to protect them from the beatings when [Ranoque] arrived home with alcohol breath and started hitting them without mercy."
Dairo, Mucutuy's brother, also alleged that Ranoque had been having an affair and had even brought his mistress from Bogota, the capital city, to their indigenous village. Ranoque later returned to Bogota after receiving threats from militant rebels. Family members speculate that Mucutuy took her children on the ill-fated journey on May 1 in an attempt to reunite with Ranoque and salvage their relationship.
The circumstances surrounding Ranoque's arrest in relation to the abuse allegations remain unclear. The Colombian Prosecutor's Office confirmed his arrest, as did Astrid Cceres, the head of the Colombian Family Welfare Institute. Cceres stated, "We learned of the capture of the father of two Mucutuy minor children, and we believe that the prosecutor has operated within the full framework of the law."
When questioned about the abuse allegations, Ranoque admitted to verbal altercations but downplayed the physical abuse, stating, "Verbally all of a sudden, yes. Physically, very little, because we did more fight of words." He maintained that his marital problems were a private matter and not meant for public scrutiny. Ranoque has retained legal representation and declined to comment on the situation to the Daily Mail.
Despite enduring a harrowing ordeal, Ranoque's four children only suffered minor injuries and malnourishment. After being discharged from the hospital, they were placed under the care of Colombia's child protection services while Ranoque and Mucutuy's family engage in a custody battle.
"They are my children, not the President's," Ranoque asserted in an interview with El Pais last month. The custody dispute continues as the children recover from their traumatic experience in the Amazon jungle.
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