In a powerful operation against one of the illicit activities that generates the most damage in the south of the country, the Twelfth Brigade of Colombian National Army, through the Infantry Battalion Nº 35 Heroes del Güepí, executed a joint operation with the River Battalion of Navy Infantry Nº 31 and in coordination with the SIJIN (JUDICIAL POLICE) of the National Police in Cartagena del Chairá, neutralized a structure specialized in the illicit extraction of mining deposits in the department of Caquetá.
The intervention took place in the Bocana del Guayas, a rural area of Cartagena del Chairá, where the troops surprised six people in the midst of illegal gold mining activity. A high-powered dredger and two boats were found by troops at the point, tools that take and remove large volumes of material of the riverbed and accelerate the degradation of Amazonian ecosystems.
Illicit gold mining has become one of the most aggressive criminal activities for the Amazon region. Unlike other illicit activities, this crime leaves an immediate and visible impact: diverted rivers, mercury-contaminated waters, massive sedimentation and accelerated loss of biodiversity. In areas such as the Caquetá river, where tributaries are the basis of life for peasant and indigenous communities, illegal mining generates damage that can take decades to reverse. A single dredger can completely transform the structure of a river, alter its natural channels and destroy entire areas of fish and aquatic fauna.
In addition to ecological damage, this activity has established as a priority source of financing for criminal organizations. The gold extracted without control is easily integrated into illicit markets and, through intermediaries, reaches legal circuits without its origin being traceable. For armed structures such as the Residual Organized Armed Group, GAO-r, illegal mining represents constant and difficult-to-trace income, even more so in areas where state presence has historically been limited.
The military operation carried out by the Twelfth Brigade not only stopped the exploitation of the illegal hideout, but in the same way dealt a direct blow to these criminal activities that sustain the GAO-r's logistical apparatus in the region. The intelligence work led to the identification of transport routes, collection points and supply dynamics that were being used by this structure to strengthen its presence in the south of the country.
Through this operation, the Twelfth Brigade reduced the GAO-r's maneuvering capacity and closed a critical space where criminal finances, environmental loss and risk for vulnerable communities converged. The unit highlighted that the illicit extraction of mining deposits is today one of the most complex crimes to confront, due to its connection with money laundering networks, trafficking in precursors, exploitation of vulnerable labor and territorial control by armed organizations.
Source: Press – National Army
