The decisive military operations carried out by the Eighth Division through the Quiron Task Force and its different Military Units such as the Eighteenth Brigade with its 12 Tactical Units, and the Land Operations Battalions n ° 27, 29, 30 and 47, have left a significant report in 2019, with which not only have systematically destabilized illegal armed groups that commit crimes in the department of Arauca, but also have led to shield the national and regional economy and so protecting the territory and its sovereignty.
The challenges faced by the troops in the seven Arauca’s municipalities, the municipality of Cubará in the department of Boyacá and the municipalities of Samoré and Gibraltar in Toledo, in the department of Norte de Santander, have decimated criminal operations through captures, demobilizations, finding of war material, destruction of explosive devices, recovery of farm animals, roadblocks and neutralization of terrorist attacks against the civilian population, the critical infrastructure of the State and the troops.
The effectiveness of the National Army troops, whose military operations are framed in the constitutional guidelines, continue to advance for the well-being of the Colombian population according to the Bicentenary Plan of the Military Forces, Heroes of Freedom, which is based on three fundamental pillars such as respect for human rights and international humanitarian law, the sustainability of the Military Forces and operational synergy, becoming permanent guarantees for the fulfillment of the objectives.
The most important achievements at national level against the Eln have been reported in this area of the country with the neutralization of 137 of its members, including captures and deaths in military operations, 67 vehicles have been found or recovered, three camp zones have been destroyed, 2,899 cartridges of different caliber have been found as well as 46 long and short range firearms.
The organized residual armed group has in the same way suffered several blows with the neutralization of 86 of its members, including captures and deaths in military operations, 33 vehicles have been found or recovered, nine camp areas have been destroyed, 9,664 cartridges of different caliber have been found and 62 Long and short range firearms have been found.
Similarly, important leaders have been captured, including alias Sargento or Chuky, alias Burringo, alias Cambumber, alias Pollito, alias Puntillón, alias Darío, alias Coco, alias Gordo Rey, alias Jorge or Viejo Tal, alias Ocho, alias Cuco or El Flaco and alias Walter.
Regarding demobilizations, 26 voluntary surrenders of adults have been made and 8 minors have been recovered or detached of the groups who were handed over to the ICBF (Colombian institute for family wellbeing) for the restoration of their rights.
The troops have in the same way managed to prevent a significant number of terrorist attacks on the strategic assets of the nation and roads, on the route of the Caño Limón - Coveñas pipeline, 22 holes for explosives have been discovered, 19 terrorist operations have been prevented and 16 blasting have been reported, this suggests that the effectiveness of the troop is 77% compared to non-neutralized operations that reaches 23%. On the Colombian Bicentenary Pipeline, 176 alerts have been reported, 8 terrorist operations have been prevented and 3 blasts have been reported, this suggests that the effectiveness of the troop is 98% compared to the non-neutralized operations which reached 2 %.
Similarly, the road protection effort leaves 63 neutralized terrorist attacks and 25 blockades prevented, as well as the finding of 525 kilograms of explosives and the controlled destruction of 303 improvised explosive devices, 113 anti-personnel mines and 84 launching pads.
Smuggling, in the same way, has been hit with the discovery of 23,055 gallons of fuel, 14,311 kilograms of food, 9,000 kilograms of metal and 901 farm animals have been found.
In order to bring well-being to the most vulnerable populations, the Bicentenary Heroes of the National Army continue to contribute to the construction of a prosperous and entrepreneurial region, with the execution of different Comprehensive Action activities including 126 prevention activities, six Development Support Activities, 10 humanitarian aid activities and 61 environmental protection activities framed in the Artemisa operation that seeks to combat the phenomena that threaten natural resources.
