The head of the Colombian police, General Henry Sanabria, said that he, along with other police officers, resorted to exorcisms and prayers in their fight against crime.

In particular, it seems that the cocaine lord Pablo Escobar was destroyed thanks to the religious ritual of "exorcising the devil".

The Colombian police chief made such unexpected confessions in an interview with the local newspaper Semana.

General Henry Sanabria assured that religious practices have helped the police during more than 50 years of armed conflict with criminal gangs and insurgents.

In particular, he talked about the operations during which the cocaine drug lord Pablo Escobar was killed in 1993, the commander of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) nicknamed "Mono Jojoy" in 2010, and the leader of the guerrillas Alfonso Cano in 2011. 

"The existence of the devil is certain.

I saw him, I felt him," said Henry Sanabria, whose study has a giant crucifix and a large number of Virgin Mary figurines.

The police chief claimed that criminals often use "witchcraft" and that the devil is behind all their actions.

As an example of countermeasures, he cited various stories from his practice, for example, about a police agent who allegedly managed to fatally wound a criminal who used a "witch amulet" with a prayer shot. 

Colombia's current president, Gustavo Petro, responded to the claims by saying that Sanabria's beliefs do not affect how he does his job. 

"We try to work so that beliefs do not affect the current rules, it's that simple.

I think he respects them [the rules], as far as we know," he assessed. 

Sanabria is known for its excessive religiosity in a generally secular country.

In particular, he actively criticizes abortions, which are allowed in Colombia up to the 24th week of pregnancy, and the use of condoms, which, in his opinion, are an "abortion method."

He also called Halloween a "satanic" holiday, and he advises his opponents to go to the cemetery at three in the morning to feel the oppressive presence of many sinful souls.

We will remind, for the needs of the police in Moscow, they decided to purchase armored panels with icons and prayers.

Icons must provide protection against bullets, withstand frost, heat and rain.

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