BOGOTÁ, Colombia (AP) — Colombia’s Defense Ministry said Monday that 66 soldiers who were “kidnapped” by residents in the country’s south have been released unharmed and will continue to carry out operations against rebel groups in Guaviare province.
The Colombian army has long struggled to defeat rebel groups in the Guaviare area, which has been heavily affected by deforestation and cocaine trafficking. Rebels sometimes exercise control over remote settlements in the area.
In a message published on the social platform
On Sunday, Colombia’s defense minister threatened to break the ceasefire with the Briceño front if the soldiers were not released.
Provincial governor Yeison Roja told Colombia’s Caracol TV network that while some of the residents who detained the soldiers may have been influenced by the rebel group, others were trying to protest the army’s presence because they did not want any more fighting in the area. . .
Colombia is currently holding peace talks with several armed groups that have refused to adhere to a 2016 peace agreement between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, in which more than 14,000 combatants laid down their arms.
The Briceño Front is part of the FARC-EMC, a group of around 4,400 fighters that recently split, with around 40% of its fighters continuing negotiations with the government, while the rest have walked away from peace negotiations and are now fighting against the army in rural areas of Colombia.
In a statement published on Saturday, the Colombian army said the detained soldiers were heading to two villages where businesspeople complained of being extorted by the Briceño front.
