Security update
October 18: a soldier wounded in Arauca, and a dissident second-in-command captured in Meta
Here's what happened since the last update, and what each one means.
1SignificantA soldier wounded by explosives in Arauquita, Arauca
Semana reported on the morning of October 18 that troops of the Army's 59th Infantry Battalion were attacked with explosive devices thrown from a moving vehicle in the Puente Quinay sector of Arauquita, Arauca. Professional soldier Daniel Felipe Pinzón Serrano suffered multiple shrapnel wounds and was taken to the San Vicente Hospital in Arauca. The Army blames the Martha Elena Barón commission of the ELN; Semana calls the attribution preliminary. The time of the attack wasn't given.
What it meansSemana counts 4 members of the security forces wounded this weekend, with the 3 police hurt in rural Cali on Saturday. In Arauca, the ELN attacked troops from a moving vehicle, so the attackers could strike and drive off.
2Significant"Junior Rojas," a dissident second-in-command, captured in Meta
On Saturday, October 17, the Army's "Operation Decisive" in the Guaimaral area of rural Puerto Rico, Meta, ended with 3 people detained, among them alias "Junior Rojas," who was wounded. El Tiempo reports he's the second-in-command and finance chief of the Marco Aurelio Buendía structure of Calarcá's FARC dissidents. A woman was killed in the fighting; preliminary information says she was a member of the group and his partner. The troops seized 2 rifles, 2 pistols, 3 hand grenades and 274 rounds. The Army accuses him of extortion, of a September 21 explosives attack in Vistahermosa that wounded 2 soldiers, and of forcing minors into the group.
What it meansOur last update called this the president's claim. El Tiempo now confirms it. Calarcá's front in Meta has lost the man the Army says ran its money.
3SignificantA Gulf Clan extortion boss captured in Urabá
Infobae reported on October 18 that the Army's anti-kidnapping and extortion unit in Urabá (Gaula Militar) and the Fiscalía's investigators (CTI) captured alias "Eliécer" in rural Carepa, Antioquia. He's described as a commission leader of the Carlos Vásquez substructure of the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo). The Army says he ran extortion of cattle ranchers, transporters and merchants in Carepa, Chigorodó and Apartadó. He's wanted for aggravated conspiracy and aggravated homicide, and investigators will look at his role in the 2021 killings of a soldier's wife and a police officer's wife. They seized more than 6 million pesos in cash and a Starlink satellite device.
What it meansThe Army says the extortion money paid for this Gulf Clan substructure, so the capture hits its income in Urabá. The authorities didn't say how many people paid or how much.
4NotableAn ELN bomb on the Cerrejón coal railway found and destroyed
Semana reported on October 18 that the Army's 10th Brigade found an improvised explosive device in the Garrapatero area of Maicao, La Guajira, meant for the El Cerrejón coal railway. The bomb squad destroyed it. Preliminary investigations link it to the ELN's 6 de Diciembre Front. No one was hurt and nothing was damaged.
What it meansThe ELN is preparing attacks on the coal railway in La Guajira. This time the Army found the bomb first.
5NotableELN pits of stolen crude found near Cúcuta
Infobae reported on October 18 that the Army found 4 handmade pits storing illegally extracted crude oil in rural Cúcuta, Norte de Santander. The Army says the crude was cooked into a crude homemade fuel (pategrillo) and attributes the operation to the ELN's Reynaldo Ardila Gómez front. The amount wasn't given and no arrests were reported.
What it meansThe ELN makes money from stolen oil as well as cocaine.
On social media
The president posted nothing about security on Sunday, October 18. He spent the day in San Andrés and Providencia, and he announced an address to the nation at 8 PM. His most-seen security post since the last update is the one on "Junior Rojas," from 5:48 PM on Saturday: "We are going to finish off this narcoterrorist plague with all the force and resolve of the State." By about 6:20 PM on Sunday it had 79,800 views, 3,800 likes and 140 replies. Supporters were far ahead in the replies, but none drew many likes. The top reply (4 likes): "Honor, recognition and gratitude to our Military Forces and National Police for their courage and determination in recovering the territory." Another: "The one who handled their money in Meta falls... A structure without a cash box falls on its own. Good for our troops, may they not let their guard down." A critic (1 like): "This parasite thinks that by showing bags (no one knows whether there really is a criminal in there or not) everyone will believe he fights crime." At 6:01 PM on Sunday, about corruption in San Andrés, he posted: "Don't confuse my government's diplomacy with complicity." It had 435 likes in its first 15 minutes, and the replies were supportive: "SAYING AND DOING. FIRM FOR THE HOMELAND." As of about 6:15 PM, he hadn't posted about the soldier wounded in Arauca, the Cerrejón bomb or "Eliécer." This comes from the top replies on X, not a poll.
I support most of this. But it doesn't go far enough. These groups use any space they're given to reset and grow. They need to be crushed, not contained.