Bogota D.C, July 09, 2025, At the farthest places of Colombia, the General Commander of the Military Forces, Admiral Francisco Hernando Cubides Granados, accompanied by the civil authorities, Soldiers, Sailors and Aviators, made the report of his first year at the command of the military institution of the highest level of planning and military strategy, in territories considered difficult to access, being in remote areas of the national geography.
Admiral Cubides highlighted the commitment of the more than 230 thousand men and women who continue to protect the nation in the land, maritime, river and aerial spaces, providing better conditions of security, well-being and development to all Colombians.
Results on the table, which translate into military operations…
The main efforts of the troops and units were focused on the framework of military operations that directly attack illegal activities, which is why, since last July 9, 2024 to date, 547 combats were reported, which represents an increase of 43%; in addition, the structures of Organized Armed Groups were significantly weakened.
This is how the menace posed by 14,062 members of illegal structures was neutralized. 8,855 were from DELCOs, 1,770 of the GAO Clan del Golfo, 1,382 from GDOs, 1,331 of the GAO-r Estado Mayor Central, 382 of the GAO-r Segunda Marquetalia and 342 of the GAO ELN. Which means 12,523 arrests, 781 surrenders to justice, 455 recovered minors, 214 Deaths in the framework of Military Operations and 89 voluntary surrenders.
Similarly, it was possible to find 4,028 weapons, 646,252 munitions and 16,097 explosive devices were neutralized, damaging the criminal logistics chain of these illegal groups.
On the other hand, the operations against the illicit extraction of mining deposits was one of the most outstanding results of this first year, with the arrest in flagrante delicto of more than 700 specialized individuals in this problem, the finding and immobilization of 1,579 engines, motor pumps and power generators, 482 sinkholes, 396 dredges, 160 units of yellow machinery, 45 dredges, and 61 units of other machinery used for the illicit extraction of these materials.
Finally, more than 794 tons of licit substances were found by troops, including 603 tons of cocaine, 170 tons of marijuana and 21 tons of coca paste base were found; in the same way troops report the destruction of 3,291 cocaine and coca paste laboratories.
These operations in key departments and regions such as Antioquia, Arauca, the Pacific Coast, Norte de Santander Department, the south of Bolívar and the South East, led to sustained pressure on the mobility routes and logistical structures of these groups, damaging the expansion of their territorial criminal influence.
Modernization and innovation of resources, a priority challenge for works to increase the defense and sovereignty of the nation…
Undoubtedly, one of the biggest achievements is the 9% increase in the budget allocated for the Military Forces. In 2024, the allocation was 16 billion pesos, for this 2025 it is more than 18 billion. In addition, more than 99 billion pesos were used within the framework of the internal commotion generated by the humanitarian crisis in Catatumbo region. These resources lead to a greater investment to improve the response capacity of military operations to different threats and related crimes, improve the availability and readiness of the different units, expand the scope of operations and missions, provide rapid and safe mobility to protect members of the Military Forces in hard-to-reach areas and high-risk environments, to increase the specialized maintenance of strategic units and strengthen the number of units, which translates into increased effective military control of the territory in focused areas.
In what has to do with the incorporation of new specialist soldiers and Professional navy men to increase the number of units in strategic regions, especially in areas hit by crime, the 16 thousand Plan was defined, which seeks to incorporate 16 thousand members of the Military Forces for 2024 and 2026; to date there has been an increase of 69%, in 2024 7,020 members of the Military Forces joined, while, in 2025 they are already 3,781, the goal this year is to ar incorporate 15,500.
Reorganization of the military strategy…
After a rigorous analysis and in view of the dynamic and changing threats, a reorganization of the operation of the five Joint Commands (CCONs) and the Joint Task Forces (JTF) was carried out. Thus, the CCONs remain fundamental in the structure of the General Command and concentrate their efforts on the defense and security of the nation through the assessment of external threats; meanwhile, the Joint Task Forces ceased to be joint and became Task Forces, which belong to Colombian National Army, but also have elements of the Colombian Navy and the Aerospace Force and continue to carry out joint operations.
The result of this reorganization led to have more units and more powerful units, optimize the resources of the military operation of Colombian National Army, the Colombian Navy and the Aerospace Force, to more effectively counter threats in each domain (land, sea, river and air) through joint operations; In addition to conducting joint operations, maintaining autonomy and roles, without losing synergy. On the other hand, eight new Rapid Deployment Forces (FUDRAs) have been created, complementing the four existing ones, which seek, in addition to maintaining the unity, the maintenance of the dynamics of the military operation against all Organized Armed Groups without geographical limits.
Another of the great achievements is the creation of the Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) Command and two new elite units specialized in the fight against crimes that attack personal freedom in the Middle Magdalena and the Colombian East, thus strengthening the resources of the military operation to combat kidnapping and extortion through operations aimed at joint prevention, intelligence, investigation and prosecution of the criminal structures responsible for the crimes.
What is coming soon…
In this new year, the challenge is to continue safeguarding civil society, maintaining the operation against all Organized Armed Groups, through the weakening of their resources and the direct combat of illicit activities such as drug trafficking, illegal mining and smuggling; as well as crimes that attack personal freedom such as extortion and kidnapping. Together with the National Police, continue to protect governance with those who work in a coordinated manner under the framework of harmonious collaboration.
The General Command of the Military Forces will continue to strengthen the wellbeing policies of the men and women throughout the national territory, increasing the levels of transparency within the branches with zero tolerance guidelines to corruption to restore and increase the trust and support of the inhabitants, to which the Colombian Military Forces are due.
Source: Strategic Communications of the General Command of the Military Forces
