The 33 soldiers who were “kidnapped” by villagers in the Amazon, acting on the orders of FARC dissidents, have now been released. Government representatives had travelled to the Nueva York area to negotiate directly with the community.
On Monday, the soldiers conducted a military operation in the province of Guaviare in the Amazon in which they killed 11 dissidents. Following the attack, citizens who live in the El Retorno municipality prevented them from leaving, according to Defense Minister Sanchez. .
Commenting on the incident, Commander of the Armed Forces Admiral Francisco Cubides said: “As a result of these combats, ten presumed members of this structure were killed in the course of military operations (…) When the troops were preparing to withdraw from the area, they were blocked by the community.”
The kidnapping follows a series of military operations against the EMC, in which the government has successfully arrested several prominent leaders in the group.
The same day as the operation in Guaviare, the government arrested “Mandinga,” the man responsible for the 33rd Front’s finances in Norte de Santander was arrested and “Kevin,” the leader of the Carlos Patiño front, surrendered. Both the 33rd Front and the Carlos Patiño are major substructures in the EMC. During Monday’s operation, soldiers killed Willington Vanegas Leyva, alias “Dumar.”
Last Thursday, a group associated with the EMC drove two trucks rigged with explosives into the vicinity of the Marco Fidel Suárez Air Base in Cali. One was detonated and killed seven civilians. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, but military leaders attributed it ot the Jaime Martínez Front, a prominent group of FARC dissidents associated with the EMC.
Another case took place in June when civilians captured 57 soldiers during an operation in El Tambo, a major area for cocaine production, also against the EMC.
On that incident, the Defense Minister said: “Using civilians as human shields is a crime that seeks to block the advance of the Public Force and State institutions in bringing social investment and justice to one of the regions hardest hit by violence.”
Links:
- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/8/26/at-least-34-colombian-soldiers-kidnapped-after-clashes-with-farc-dissidents
- https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2025-08-26/el-ministro-de-defensa-de-colombia-confirma-que-34-militares-estan-secuestrados-en-guaviare.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com
- https://apnews.com/article/c907962ff66926978e4400b82e3803ad?utm_source=chatgpt.com
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