The Colombian military has taken action against the EMC group in intensive airstrikes in the Amazon region. The operation left 19 victims among the militants.
The Colombian army on Tuesday reported an airstrike on a drug-trafficking guerrilla group in the Amazon department, killing 19 of its fighters. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency.
The attacks were aimed at an offshoot of the defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). According to AFP, they came at a time when Colombian President Gustavo Petro is facing criticism from the opposition and from the United States for his alleged reluctance to crack down on cocaine-trafficking gunmen.
Admiral Francisco Cubides said the airstrikes were carried out “at dawn on November 10” and killed 19 “terrorists”. Security forces captured one person and confiscated unspecified military equipment. The strikes were said to be in response to “threatened rebel attacks on military targets”.
He ordered their dissolution
Petro declared that he had ordered the “bombing and military dissolution” of the organization led by the most wanted rebel known by the nickname Iván Mordisco. He is the leader of the Central General Staff (EMC) group. This FARC faction rejects a 2016 peace deal with the Colombian government.
After disarming FARC fighters, EMC is consolidating its position and operating in remote areas of Colombia, where it makes money mainly from the production and distribution of drugs, extortion and illegal extraction of raw materials. In October, the United States imposed sanctions on Colombian President Pedro, his wife, eldest son and the interior minister for alleged failure to curb drug trafficking.
Since taking office in 2022, Petro has preferred negotiations with drug gangs instead of direct military intervention. According to critics, such an approach allows cartels and guerrilla groups to grow stronger, occupy new territory and produce record amounts of cocaine.
