The tactical planning prioritized the immediate evacuation of civilians under strict time restrictions, assuming the risks inherent in the landing of troops in an area of high complexity of the military operation.
In a high-precision operation called Marcos, and in immediate response to the risk situation, National Army troops rescued 13 members of the Arhuaca indigenous people, including women and minors, who were in a vulnerable condition in the Serankwa sector, municipality of Aracataca, department of Magdalena.
The maneuver involved the deployment of more than 100 soldiers of the Mountain Battalion No. 6, of the Second Brigade, and the fundamental support of the Aviation Mobility and Maneuver Battalion No. 1, as well as the Colombian Aerospace Force. The operation integrated military intelligence resources, airborne insertion and the use of technological means, including SkyWiper antidron systems, raising so the security of the ground operation and immediate medical assistance by combat nurses.
This effort to protect the integrity of the ancestral communities was made possible thanks to the joint and coordinated work with the Magdalena Governorate, indigenous authorities of the region, the Ombudsman's Office, the Colombian Red Cross and the Attorney General's Office.
According to military intelligence information, the instability in the area is a consequence of the territorial dispute among the illegal armed structures over the control of strategic routes for drug trafficking and the collection of money from extortion.
The David Meza Peña substructure of the organized armed group, GAO, Clan del Golfo, under the command of alias Henry, and the Libardo Vergel Front of the Conquistadoras de la Sierra Self-defense Forces, led by alias Flash or Comando 200, are interfering in this region.
Colombian National Army reaffirms its commitment to the protection of the human rights and security of the indigenous communities that inhabit the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, maintaining the deployment of troops to stabilize the territory and neutralize criminal acts that threaten the tranquility of the inhabitants of the Department of Magdalena.
Source: Colombian National Army - Primera División Press
