More than 50 Colombian soldiers held by residents in restive region: army

BOGOTA: More than 50 Colombian soldiers were being held captive Sunday by residents of a guerrilla-controlled region in the southwest of the country, the army said. A first platoon of soldiers was carrying out an operation in El Tambo, a municipality part of an area known as the Micay Canyon — a cocaine-producing enclave — when civilians detained them on Saturday.

On Sunday another group of soldiers was surrounded by at least 200 residents as they headed toward El Plateado, another town in the region. “As a result of both events, a total of four non-commissioned officers and 53 professional soldiers remain deprived of their liberty,” the army said. In conflict-ridden regions of Colombia, some illegal groups at times order civilians to carry out actions to impede the advance of security forces.

They are usually released hours later after the intervention of human rights organisations. General Federico Alberto Mejia said in a video that it was a “kidnapping” by guerrillas who had “infiltrated” the community. The army has maintained that the farmers receive orders from the so-called central general staff (EMC), the main FARC dissident group that did not sign the 2016 peace agreement with the then government.

President Gustavo Petro on Sunday urged farmers to “stop believing in armed groups who obey foreigners,” referring to the guerrillas’ alleged ties to Mexican cartels. “We want to spread peace, but freeing the soldiers, who are their own children, is imperative,” the leftist president wrote on social media platform X. Petro has been trying for months to ensure that the armed forces gain access to the entire Micay Canyon. In March, 28 police officers and a soldier were held captive by local residents in the same area. All were released two days later. Colombia is experiencing its worst security crisis in the last decade. Petro attempted to negotiate peace with the EMC, but its main leader, known as “Ivan Mordisco,” abandoned the talks.