22 hours Ago
Two Days, Planned Abductions
The kidnappings happened in two separate batches, the military said: The 31 soldiers were taken on Saturday, and the additional 26 on Sunday. Brig. Gen. Federico Alberto Mejía said in a video statement that 53 soldiers, including four noncommissioned officers, had been arrested.
"This is called a kidnapping," Mejía said, adding that this situation is very serious. He added that the troops had been taken by more than 200 civilians, believed to have been mobilized by the EMC dissident faction of the Farc, which was dissolved following the demobilization of Farc rebels in 2017.
A Region Still in Conflict
Despite the landmark 2016 peace deal between the government and the FARC, the Micay Canyon region is still one of the most unstable parts of Colombia. This mountainous corridor is a centre for cocaine production and a strategic pathway to get the drug to the Pacific ports for export abroad.
While the EMC has not made an official declaration, Colombian media reports that the rebel group was believed to have been responsible for the mass kidnapping. The EMC, today the biggest of the Farc splinter groups, has kept a toehold in remote areas, occasionally employing local civilians to police-military movements and guard drug routes.
The threat to security and peace
The mass abductions illustrate the precarious security situation in the Colombian countryside, where armed groups continue to hold sway. Although peace agreements and negotiations with rebel groups continue, the rise of conflict via proxy actors seriously undermines the government's grip.
There was no immediate word about the condition of the soldiers or any current rescue efforts. In the meantime, tensions are expected to increase as the government comes under increasing pressure to do something about the mass abduction and rein in armed dissident groups in principal drug-producing areas.
