Six members of armed groups were killed in Colombia on Sunday during military operations launched shortly after President Abelardo de la Espriella took office. The actions marked the beginning of the hard-right leader’s promised campaign against guerrillas, drug trafficking groups and other criminal organisations.
The 48-year-old millionaire and former lawyer was sworn in on Friday after campaigning on a tougher security policy amid the country’s worst wave of violence in at least a decade. His presidency is also expected to strengthen Bogotá’s ties with Washington and bring an end to peace negotiations pursued by his predecessor.
Operations target armed groups
Four guerrillas were killed in a municipality in the central department of Meta, within Colombia’s Amazon region. Among them was a mid-ranking commander from Comandos de la Frontera, a dissident faction formed by former members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC.
Two members of Clan del Golfo, described as Colombia’s most powerful drug trafficking organisation, were killed in a rural area of the north-western department of Antioquia.
The operations sent a “clear and forceful message to all criminals”, de la Espriella said.
“There is nowhere they can hide,” he added.
New government rejects further dialogue
In his inaugural address, de la Espriella pledged to fight “drug terrorism and all criminal organisations without respite”, arguing that attempts to negotiate with the country’s main armed groups had been exhausted.
He said Colombia would intensify air strikes against drug traffickers and guerrillas with support from the United States and Israel. He also pledged to construct large prisons modelled on those introduced in El Salvador.
The president has made clear that he intends to end the peace negotiations launched by his social democratic predecessor, Gustavo Petro, the first left-wing president in Colombia’s modern history.
First operations followed by drone attack
The military began its first operations under the new government on Saturday. De la Espriella announced that a senior member of a former FARC dissident faction had been killed in the south-east, while a commander belonging to another dissident group was captured in southern Colombia.
The president’s first full day in office was also marked by attacks against the security forces. A police officer was killed in northern Colombia when drones carrying explosives targeted a police station.
Source: AMNA
