The operation against this crime that causes serious damage in the Colombian Amazon resulted in the destruction, in total, of 12 dredgers, used by the illegal armed group Comandos de Frontera to extract gold and thereby strengthen its illegal finances.
Within the framework of the Ayacucho Plus Campaign Plan, Colombian National Army continues to carry out sustained military operations against the illicit extraction of mining deposits, with important results in the departments of Amazonas and Putumayo that significantly hit the illicit activities of residual organized armed groups.
In the department of Amazonas, on the Cotuhé River, in the Tarapacá sector, troops of the Twenty-Sixth Brigade, in coordination with the 50th Infantry Battalion of the Sixth Division, and with the support of the Brigade Against the Illicit Exploitation of Mining Sites, the Colombian Aerospace Force and the National Navy, carried out the finding and destruction of 14 mining production units used for the illicit exploitation of mining sites.
Nine dredgers, six 2,500 W electricity generators, two 3,500 W electricity generators, eight outboard motors, nine industrial engines, 990 gallons of diesel and 2,500 gallons of gasoline were destroyed during the operation. In the same way, 28 grams of gold, an 800 W power generator and a 16-caliber carbine were seized.
According to intelligence information, these illegal structures would be being used by the residual organized armed group (GAO-r) Comandos de Frontera Structure. This operation managed to hit one of its main sources of illegal financing, with an estimated economic loss of about 1,600 million dollars. In addition, this structure was prevented from continuing to receive monthly income close to USD $4.1 million, resulting of the illicit extraction of approximately 27,000 grams of gold.
On the other hand, in the department of Putumayo, in the rural area of the municipality of Puerto Guzmán, hamlets Dos Quebradas and Bocanas del Fragua, troops of the Combat Engineer Battalion No. 27, of the Twenty-Seventh Brigade, are carrying out an air assault insertion operation, in coordination with the Military Intelligence Brigade No. 1, the Brigade Against the Illicit Exploitation of Mining deposits and the Aviation Mobility and Maneuver Battalion No. 6.
In this military action, it was possible to destroy a huge dredge, three diver-type dredgers and specialized machinery used in the illicit exploitation of open-pit mining deposits. In the same way, three classifiers, a large spiral classifier, a 100-kilowatt power generator, two 50-horsepower outboard motors, a 1700 HP industrial engine, six modified engines, four gasoline-powered motor pumps, as well as fuel, hoses and other supplies were disabled
This operation generated an economic loss of more than 2,046 million pesos, corresponding to the value of the destroyed machinery and significantly hit the finances of the GAO-r Comandos de Frontera Structure, taking into account that this illicit activity produced approximately 13,500 kilograms of gold per month, equivalent to about 6,750 million pesos.
Together, the operations carried out in both departments represent a powerful blow to illicit activities, weakening the logistical and criminal resources of this illegal armed structure.
Within the framework of environmental protection, these actions led to mitigate serious impacts such as water source pollution, soil degradation and landscape alteration, contributing to the preservation of biodiversity and ecological balance. It is estimated that the environmental recovery of the intervened areas could exceed 10 years, depending on the level of loss and the implementation of effective mitigation, control and restoration measures.
Source: Press - National Army
