In the midst of fighting, the troops prevented the diversion of export-type coffee to illicit activities, protecting more than 6,000 million pesos of the national agricultural sector in the southwest of the country.
Within the framework of the Ayacucho Plus Joint Strategic Campaign Plan, troops of the National Army thwarted the theft of two tractor-trailers loaded with export-style coffee and freed their drivers, who had been held by members of the residual organized armed group (GAO-r) Franco Benavides, structure of the terrorist alias Ivan Mordisco.
The military operation took place in the village of El Vado, in the municipality of Mercaderes, department of Cauca. After receiving the news on the kidnapping of the two drivers and their vehicles, troops of the High Mountain Battalion No. 4 of the Twenty-Ninth Brigade, with the support of the Light Cavalry Group No. 8, reacted immediately and began fighting against the criminals; troops recovered the vehicles and got the citizens to safety.
Inside the tractor-trailers, 65 tons of export-type coffee were being transported, valued at more than 6000 million pesos. The cargo was recovered, preventing a significant monetary loss for the coffee production groups of the region.
Source: Press – National Army
