The heroism of a young soldier from Cucuta inspires Colombian National Army in one of the areas hardest hit by the operations of the most violent criminal structure in southwestern Colombia.
"Yes, we can, General!", exclaimed Soldier Manuel Alejandro Pedraza Villamizar with firmness and determination, while holding the gaze of the most senior officer of the Third Division, Brigadier General Federico Alberto Mejía Torres. It was Monday, July 14, just a few hours after being wounded in combat during one of the most complex operations currently carried out by the military Forces in the southwest of the country.
Pedraza, 24, born in Cúcuta, Norte de Santander Department, has been serving the homeland for two years as a Soldier, but his mettle reflects the experience of a veteran. He was one of the seven soldiers injured on Sunday, July 13, when the troops were carrying out military operations in the village of El Amparo, in the municipality of Suárez, a strategic point for the residual organized armed group, GAO-r, Jaime Martínez. “I prepared for this. I got wounds, but I did not give up, I complied with the order. Here I am, firm for Colombia” he said proudly, while narrating to the general every second of the combat, without showing a single gesture of renunciation.
In the early morning of that Sunday, in the midst of a growing wave of violence in the south of the Valle and the north of Cauca, the decisive phase of Operation Northern Shield was activated, a campaign of the military operation of Colombian National Army designed to penetrate the logistical heart of this criminal structure, dismantle its mobility routes and re-establish institutional territorial control.
For more than five hours, the troops sustained intense fighting in an area historically hit by criminal operations. With the support of the Colombian Aerospace Force, A-29 Super Tucano aircraft, Harpia helicopters and heavy artillery support, the soldiers maintained the operation, even when the members of this illegal armed group used drones with explosive devices, a situation that generated the injuries to Soldier Pedraza and his companions.
As part of this operation, Soldier José Daniel Ortiz Conde, a hero of the homeland who gave his life to provide security to Colombians, was killed in the line of duty. His name complements with honor those who have work to provide their existence in defense of the sovereignty and peace of the country.
The villages of Jamundí, in Valle del Cauca, and the municipalities of Santander de Quilichao, Suárez, Caloto, Toribío and Cajibío, in Cauca, have been for years an environment of disputes by illegal armed structures for the control of illicit activities. Today, with every meter recovered by the soldiers, the domination of fear is broken and the presence of the State is restored.
Brigadier General Mejía Torres’ visit to the medical centers where the wounded are recovering was not a symbolic act, but a show of close leadership. At that meeting, he found in Pedraza the voice of a generation of soldiers who are not afraid to fight the battle and who remain firm in the face of adversity.
The operation continues and Colombian National Army will maintain its presence in the area until territorial control is fully ensured and the operations of this illegal armed structure are completely weakened. Pedraza's voice, which echoed through white walls and stretchers, is today the voice of an entire Army that does not stop: “Yes, we can, my general!”
Source: Press – National Army
