Troops of the Navy Infantry River Battalions No. 22 and 23, together with personnel of the Bahia Solano Coast Guard Station and jointly with Brigade No. 15 of Colombian National Army, have been deployed at different strategic points
As part of the operation, two illegal hiding places belonging to the Jairo de Jesús Durango Restrepo substructure, of the Clan Del Golfo were found.
Within the framework of the strategy Construyendo por Chocó (Building for Chocó), the National Police arrested alias Cheo, ringleader of the Mexicanos, with 9 judicial notices for serious crimes, and in coordination with the Prosecutor's Office and the Navy seized war material and military accessories of the GAO Clan del Golfo in Bahía Solano.
In order to deal with the threat of illegal armed groups in the department of Chocó, the Military Forces have reinforced security operations in the department with the deployment of more than 1,540 members of the Military Forces of the Colombian National Army and Navy. Through this effort, land, river and air control operations have been strengthened, ensuring the protection of the inhabitants.
Colombian National Army has reinforced its presence in the department with the deployment of 340 soldiers within the framework of the Ayacucho Plus Campaign Plan. According to Brigadier General William Fernando Caicedo Benavidez, Commander of the Fifteenth Brigade, "men who entered the villages of San Miguel, Negría and Panama, of the municipality of Medio San Juan, with the intention of reaching the places hit, such as Puerto Murillo and Unión Wounan, had already been deployed.”
In order to face the confrontations that take place between the ELN and the Clan del Golfo, which have caused the displacement of more than 500 people in the municipality of Istmina, the Colombian Navy has implemented an intervention plan in the San Juan and Atrato rivers, ensuring strategic routes to prevent new acts of violence. Its river and Coast Guard units have conducted security operations in Jurado, Riosucio, Carmen del Darién, Bahía Solano, Nuquí, Bajo Baudó, Vigía del Fuerte and the Litoral de San Juan Coast.
In the Atrato River, which has an extension of 505 navigable kilometers, the river control operation remains active. "The Colombian Navy is working for the free navigation, the free transit of goods and people, keeping this tributary free of the influence of illegal organized groups," says Navy Colonel Nelson Albeiro Cano Holguín, Commander of Navy Brigade No. 1.
This is how, “on the banks of the municipalities of Riosucio, Carmen del Darién, Bojayá and Quibdó, the Navy exercises control operations by means of afloat units, river checkpoints and security operations, combating illegal activities in the region,” adds the Navy officer.
Result of the military operation against the Clan del Golfo
In the same way, within the framework of these operations, the Army dealt a strategic blow to the GAO Clan del Golfo with the finding of a war arsenal in the rural area of the municipality of Medio San Juan. In two illegal hiding places belonging to the Jairo de Jesús Durango Restrepo Substructure were found by troops:
* 1 rifle Barrett caliber .50
* 32 assault rifles, including M4 and AK-47,
* 3 shotguns,
* 3 machine guns,
* 5 grenade launchers,
* 2 MGL multiple grenade launchers,
* 1 60 mm mortar,
* 4 handguns,
* 66 magazines,
* More than 2,000 ammunition of different calibers,
* Camouflaged uniforms and campaign equipment with badges of the criminal organization.
During the operation, a member of the GAO Clan del Golfo surrendered to justice.
Source: Press - Ministry of National Defense
