A group of 34 soldiers sequestered since Friday in southern Colombia after an operation against environmental crimes were finally released on Saturday April 20.
“A commission from the UN and the People’s Defender’s Office visited the village of Alto Caño Cafra to engage in dialogue with the community, and the 34 soldiers were subsequently released”affirms the army in a press release, specifying that the soldiers “are in good health and have all their equipment and materials”.
Governor Rafaela Cortés assured that behind this kidnapping were dissidents from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) who rejected the 2016 peace agreement and who, according to her, “use the civilian population against the police”.
Authorities had earlier announced that two investigators from Colombia’s Attorney General’s Office, along with a woman who accompanied them, had been kidnapped in the southwest of the country by the Central Staff (EMC), the largest faction of FARC dissidents who refused to give up their arms – unlike most of the FARC – after the signing of this historic peace agreement in 2016.
According to the EMC, investigators “were surprised” has “a checkpoint” in possession of “two weapons and their ammunition, as well as electronic devices for gathering information”.
Government attempts to renegotiate peace with dissidents
“We hope that international organizations can create the security conditions necessary for their release”the dissident organization also said.
In 2022, Colombian military intelligence estimated the EMC’s strength at around 3,500 guerrillas. The organization controls revenues from drug trafficking and illegal mining.
A truce was concluded at the end of 2023 between the EMC and the government of President Gustavo Petro, in power since August 2022, who is trying to renegotiate peace with these dissidents. After a series of attacks against civilians and security forces, the assassination of an indigenous leader by the rebels ultimately led the government to decree on March 17 the end of the ceasefire in three departments in the south -west of the country.