Targeted attacks on Colombian security forces leave 27 dead in two weeks
The Colombian government says 15 police officers and 12 soldiers have been killed over the past two weeks in targeted attacks it blames on armed groups.
President Gustavo Petro accused the Gulf Clan criminal gang and other armed groups of targeting members of the security forces in revenge for the recent killing of several of their leaders.
The government has offered a reward for information leading to the arrest of those behind the attacks.
Petro was elected on a promise to bring "total peace" to Colombia, but on Friday his interior minister acknowledged that the strategy was "not going well", following the breakdown of talks with the Gulf Clan and several other armed groups.
Petro published a list on X of the names of the 15 police officers and 12 soldiers which he said had been "systematically" killed since 15 April.
According to the list, 10 of the police officers were murdered on duty, while five were killed off duty.
Seven of the soldiers on the list all died in a single ambush on Sunday in Guaviare province. The army has blamed that attack on a dissident Farc rebel group.
The Farc, short for Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, signed a peace deal with the government in 2016 and most of its fighters laid down their arms.
But a considerable number of Farc rebels who did not agree with the deal formed dissident groups which have continued to fight the security forces.
In an effort to bring peace to Colombia, Petro's government held talks with some of these dissident groups, as well as with rebels of the National Liberation Army (ELN), and members of the Gulf Clan criminal gang.
But Petro suspended the talks with the ELN in January, accusing it of having "no will for peace".
He also opted not to renew a ceasefire with a dissident Farc rebel group in April.
Talks with the Gulf Clan also stalled after police launched an operation against the group's leader, known as "Chiquito Malo" (Spanish for "Bad Shorty"), in February.
Chiquito Malo escaped unharmed, but days later another senior leader, known as "Terror", and his bodyguards were killed by police.
The Colombian government says that the Gulf Clan ordered its members to kill on- and off-duty police officers and soldiers in revenge for these operations.
Erasing Escobar: Will Colombia ban the sale of memorabilia of the drug lord?
Rebel feud displaces more than 30,000 in northern Colombia
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
At least four dead in Colombia attacks, local media reports
At least four people have died in a wave of bomb and gun attacks in south-western Colombia, according to local media reports. Two police officers were said to be among those killed in the attacks, which targeted Cali, the country's third-largest city, and several nearby towns. Car bombs, motorcycle bombs, rifle fire and a suspected drone were reportedly used in the attacks. The Colombian Ministry of Defence said 19 attacks had taken place. Local media have linked some of the attacks to a faction of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), a once-powerful guerrilla group. The BBC has not been able to independently verify this. Police stations, municipal buildings and civilian targets were hit as an escalating security crisis grips the South American country. Multiple people have been injured in the attacks, although the precise number of dead and injured is not yet clear. In a statement posted to social media, the Colombian Ministry of Defence said 12 attacks in the Cauca region and seven in the Valle del Cauca region, the ministry said. The ministry described the violence as "a desperate reaction by illegal armed groups to the massive operations of the [military and police], which have devastated their illicit structures and economies". The mayor of the region's biggest city, Cali, said the city had returned to 1989, when it was blighted by the drugs trade and cartel violence. The attacks come days after the attempted assassination of presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay in the capital city, Bogota, while he addressed supporters. A 15-year-old was arrested on the scene at the time. On Tuesday, the Attorney General's office said the teenager did not accept the charges levelled against him, including attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm. A judge has ordered the detention of the teenager, the Attorney General's office added.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Mexico's security chief says drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's most powerful drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers, prompting Mexican authorities to turn away dozens of Colombians trying to enter the country in recent weeks, Mexico's security chief said Tuesday. Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch's comments followed the arrest last week of 12 Colombians in the western state of Michoacan in connection with a mine attack that killed eight Mexican soldiers. Through contact with Colombian authorities, García Harfuch said that nine of the 12 individuals were former soldiers and the remaining three were civilians with weapons training. Close underworld ties have long existed between organized crime groups in Mexico and Colombia. For many years, Colombian drug traffickers produced cocaine and heroin and moved it themselves by boat or plane to the United States. Later, as U.S. authorities cracked down on trafficking in the Caribbean, Mexican cartels' power grew as they moved Colombian drugs over land and via small plane to the U.S. border and smuggled them across. Decades of internal conflict in Colombia have produced tens of thousands of former soldiers, paramilitaries and guerrillas with weapons training and combat experience. Colombians have been hired guns in the 2021 assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse and in the ongoing war in Ukraine. In recent weeks, Mexican immigration authorities rejected 69 Colombians trying to enter Mexico, some of whom in interviews said 'they had been coopted by some criminal group.' García Harfuch said Tuesday that both the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels were recruiting Colombians. Colombia's ambassador to Mexico, Fernando García, said last week that he feared the arrests would negatively impact ongoing negotiations with Mexico to reduce the number of Colombians prevented from entering the country at Mexican airports. In March, the Colombian government had said that talks with Mexico were progressing with mechanisms for Mexico and Colombia to verify information about those seeking to enter Mexico. In October 2023, Mexican authorities arrested eight Colombians also in Michoacan state, who allegedly were helping to make explosives dropped by cartel drones. Former soldiers from other countries have worked with Mexican cartels too. More than a decade ago, the fearsome Zetas, whose leaders came from Mexico's military, recruited former members of Guatemala's special forces Kaibiles in their ranks. ____ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
35 minutes ago
Mexico's security chief says drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers
MEXICO CITY -- Mexico's most powerful drug cartels are recruiting former Colombian soldiers, prompting Mexican authorities to turn away dozens of Colombians trying to enter the country in recent weeks, Mexico's security chief said Tuesday. Security Secretary Omar García Harfuch's comments followed the arrest last week of 12 Colombians in the western state of Michoacan in connection with a mine attack that killed eight Mexican soldiers. Through contact with Colombian authorities, García Harfuch said that nine of the 12 individuals were former soldiers and the remaining three were civilians with weapons training. Close underworld ties have long existed between organized crime groups in Mexico and Colombia. For many years, Colombian drug traffickers produced cocaine and heroin and moved it themselves by boat or plane to the United States. Later, as U.S. authorities cracked down on trafficking in the Caribbean, Mexican cartels' power grew as they moved Colombian drugs over land and via small plane to the U.S. border and smuggled them across. Decades of internal conflict in Colombia have produced tens of thousands of former soldiers, paramilitaries and guerrillas with weapons training and combat experience. Colombians have been hired guns in the 2021 assassination of Haiti President Jovenel Moïse and in the ongoing war in Ukraine. In recent weeks, Mexican immigration authorities rejected 69 Colombians trying to enter Mexico, some of whom in interviews said 'they had been coopted by some criminal group.' García Harfuch said Tuesday that both the Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels were recruiting Colombians. Colombia's ambassador to Mexico, Fernando García, said last week that he feared the arrests would negatively impact ongoing negotiations with Mexico to reduce the number of Colombians prevented from entering the country at Mexican airports. In March, the Colombian government had said that talks with Mexico were progressing with mechanisms for Mexico and Colombia to verify information about those seeking to enter Mexico. In October 2023, Mexican authorities arrested eight Colombians also in Michoacan state, who allegedly were helping to make explosives dropped by cartel drones. Former soldiers from other countries have worked with Mexican cartels too. More than a decade ago, the fearsome Zetas, whose leaders came from Mexico's military, recruited former members of Guatemala's special forces Kaibiles in their ranks.
