Colombian army reports 45 soldiers held captive by criminal gangs in Cauca

BOGOTA, Colombia

The Colombian army reported on Monday that 45 soldiers are being held captive in a rural area of the municipality of El Tambo, located in the southwestern region of Cauca.

A total of 72 military personnel were initially kidnapped on Sunday afternoon during operations against drug trafficking and criminal organizations in the area. The army reported later that 27 of the soldiers had been "extracted."

"We demand the immediate release of 45 heroes of the nation kidnapped in El Tambo, Cauca," wrote Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez on Sunday.

The soldiers were kidnapped during a military operation launched on August 19 with more than 300 soldiers against a dissident group of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a group of former combatants who rejected the 2016 peace agreement with the government.

In a statement, the military explained that members of its Rapid Deployment Force were operating against the Carlos Patino group, the largest dissident faction of the former FARC, when approximately 600 people "impeded the advance of the troops."

The region is a key gateway for drug trafficking routes leading out of Colombia through the Pacific. The Ministry of Defense noted that this kind of action, where communities act under pressure from illegal armed groups to kidnap military personnel, is a growing pattern in conflict-affected regions.

Since 2021, more than a hundred attacks against military troops have been recorded in different regions, hampering security operations and weakening the state's presence in areas affected by drug trafficking and armed violence. Another incident occurred in the department of Guaviare in late August, where 33 soldiers were also held captive.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro, in a message on X, demanded the soldiers' release.

"This is the opportunity. Set the soldiers free; they could be your children," Petro wrote. "The children of Colombia must embrace and outlive their parents. The dialogue commission is ready, and it is the president's word.”