As part of the operations carried out in the south of the department of Tolima against organized armed groups, a coordinated operation was carried out by the Colombian Aerospace Force and the National Police, aimed at countering the illicit exploitation of mining deposits in the municipality of Chaparral.
As a result of this action, it was possible to disable machinery used in illegal mining activities in the Amoyá and Santa Rosa hamlets, which managed to directly hit the finances of the Organized Armed Group specialized in this criminal activity. According to the authorities, the operation generated an approximate economic loss of 5,700 million pesos, as a result of the controlled destruction of seven excavators, three industrial engines, a dredger, a power generator and a motor pump, elements used for the illicit extraction of minerals.
This action hits the illicit activities associated with the Residual Organized Armed Group, GAO-r, of the Ismael Ruiz Front of the Isaías Pardo Central Bloc, considering that these structures obtained income by collecting money from extortion against illegal miners, with amounts estimated by five and eight million pesos per month for each machine in operation.
In addition to the financial blow, the operation managed to mitigate the environmental loss caused by the dumping of polluting substances such as mercury, cyanide, fuels and petroleum into water sources in the region, contributing to the protection of the river and the strategic ecosystems of the south of Tolima.
This operation is a significant result of the State's inter-institutional effort to weaken the illegal activities that finance organized armed groups, reduce their ability to exert pressure on communities and strengthen institutional control of the territory.
The authorities reiterated that this type of operations will continue to be carried outed permanently, in coordination with the institutions, with the aim of protecting natural resources, safeguarding the security of the inhabitants and significantly hiting the sources of illegal financing.
Source: Office of Public Communications CACOM 4
