The military operation was carried out in the village of San Antonio de Gurumendy, in López de Micay, due to the environmental damages suffered by the river because of the illegal activity. In less than a month, two major military operations are underway against this crime with heavy machinery in the Cauca Pacific region.
The efforts of Colombian National Army troops to counteract the environmental damage caused by illegal mining extraction in the department of Cauca do not cease. Together with the Colombian Aerospace Force and the National Police, the soldiers of the 56th Infantry Battalion intervened two mining production units installed on tributaries of the López de Micay River, in the Cauca Pacific region.
The offensive deployment to stop this illicit activity led to reaching the village of San Antonio de Gurumendy, where troops in the same way found 4 excavators, 2 industrial engines and a dredger, these are elements that were being used to extract more than 4000 grams of gold per month, whose value in the illegal trade amounts to 1200 million pesos.
This machinery, which would belong to the dissidents Carlos Patiño and Jaime Martínez, would have a cost of 1380 million, so not only the illegal finances of those groups are hit with this operation, but in the same way the monthly rents obtained by the extraction and commercialization of the mineral.
The main objective of the troops is to stop the serious deforestation left by mineral extraction; in this way it was possible to intervene an area of 10 hectares hit by the indiscriminate use of this machinery, with which more 6000 trees were deforested. The plants recovery time could take 20 to 30 years.
The troops will remain in the sector in order to prevent the invasion of areas of special ecological importance, as well as the damage of natural resources and environmental pollution due to the illegal exploitation of mining deposits or fuels.
Colombian National Army, in compliance with the Amazonas Plan, seeks the protection of water, biodiversity and the environment, and is constant in its operation against this illicit activity that hits an important environmental reserve for the region.
Source: Press - Third Division of Colombian National Army
