Desecration of Deceased Soldiers’ Bodies Provokes Military Reaction in Colombia

The desecration of deceased soldiers’ bodies by guerrillas of the Central General Staff provoked a military reaction in Cauca, Colombia. The government of President Gustavo Petro ordered a “total offensive” against the guerrillas operating in this southern region of the country, who last weekend desecrated the bodies of four soldiers killed in combat against this illegal armed group. This faction of the group known as Central General Staff broke off peace talks weeks ago with the State, which suspended the bilateral ceasefire.

While peace talks continue with other fronts of the same guerrilla group, the faction operating in Cauca was repeatedly accused of systematic violations of the ceasefire and attacks against the civilian population. Since the breakdown of the ceasefire hostilities have increased, and now the State wants to regain control in the territory.

Desecration of soldiers’ corpses ends tolerance in Colombia

The desecration of the bodies of four soldiers killed in combat with this guerrilla was the last straw that broke the government’s patience. It all happened last weekend in a rural area of the municipality of Argelia, in the department of Cauca. This is a traditionally complex area in terms of security, due to the presence of this and other illegal armed groups that dispute territorial control.

“The offensive against the EMC (Central General Staff) in Cauca must be total. They are murderers of the people and traffickers. If the president has to go, the president will go,” wrote President Petro on his social networks on Sunday night.

After the news of the desecration of the bodies of the deceased soldiers spread, the reaction of the Ministry of Defense and the Presidency was immediate. Apparently, the deceased were hidden in the jungle zone, to “safeguard” the lives of the rest of the soldiers who were operating in a calculated retreat. However, the bodies were found by the guerrillas, stripped of military equipment and decapitated, by order of the guerrilla chief.

“This ruthless terrorist (…) intimidates the communities, orders attacks and decapitations of members of the Military Forces, which shows a serious violation of Human Rights and the non-observance of International Humanitarian Law”, explained the Ministry of Defense, a source that, finally, confirmed the recovery and subsequent delivery to the families of the bodies of the deceased soldiers.

Audios implicate guerrilla chief in Cauca crimes

The Colombian army intercepted audio recordings in which the guerrilla leader is heard ordering the decapitation of soldiers. “Nothing about taking prisoners, they’ll chop off the heads of all the motherfuckers,” is heard in the recording attributed to alias Dumar, head of the front of the illegal armed group.

The commander of the Armed Forces, General Giraldo, confirmed that these audios will be sent to international organizations as they are considered a clear example of the violation of International Humanitarian Law. “We have the interception of communication of the terrorist structure in which they give the order that if they capture members of the public forces they will be behead them, we have the evidence, this is not imaginary, and it will be brought to the attention of the competent authorities”, announced General Giraldo.

For their part, the military confirmed that the objective is to recover the municipality of Argelia and the control of the Micay canyon for the State, after years of forced displacement of the population in this zone of confrontations between criminal groups.

Necessary blow of authority against the guerrillas in Cauca

With this operation, the Colombian government wants to give a show of force, after repeated crises in the peace talks. Despite the fact that these are being held with other fronts of this guerrilla group of the Central General Staff, the main armed group that emerged as a dissidence of the former FARC, the government has questioned the will for peace of the armed structure of this illegal group in Cauca.

Recovering that zone for the State and weakening the guerrilla structure in the region would be a point in favor of a State needing to demonstrate military force, in the face of criticism from the political opposition for the alleged weakening of the military forces in the context of the peace talks.

During the rescue operations and recovery of the bodies of the deceased soldiers, five guerrillas from this criminal structure were also captured and brought to justice.

The desecration of the bodies of the dead soldiers generated a wave of rejection in Colombia. Indignation peaked, exacerbated by the leak of audio recordings of the desperate voices of the soldiers crying out for help from their comrades in the face of the guerrilla siege.

Strategic zone for all armed actors and the State

Three municipalities are located in the canyon of the Micay River in Cauca: El Tambo, Argelia and Lopez de Micay. This geographic area has been for decades the center of the internal armed conflict in the southwest of the country. Historically, a front of the now defunct FARC controlled the area, maintaining violent confrontations with the state and other armed groups seeking to dominate the territory.

After the 2016 peace accords, which led to the disappearance of the historic FARC guerrillas, the Carlos Patiño column emerged as a dissident group framed within the Central General Staff, a new illegal armed organization made up of guerrillas from the former FARC who did not accept the peace eight years ago. Today, this guerrilla faction maintains permanent armed confrontations with the Second Marquetalia, another dissident group of the former FARC, with the paramilitaries of the so-called Autodefensas Gaitanistas de Colombia, with the National Liberation Army (ELN) and, obviously, with the Colombian army.

The main cause of this long and bloody confrontation is control of the lucrative profits from drug trafficking. According to lawyer John Jairo Blandon, a specialist in administrative law, between Argelia and El Tambo there are around 15,000 hectares of coca crops, representing 70 percent of the production of the department of Cauca. In addition to being the area with the most coca crops in the region, the proximity of the territory to the Panamerican Highway and the tributaries that reach the Pacific Ocean facilitate its commercialization.

Economic benefits are estimated to average between 10 and 15 billion pesos per week. Therefore, maintaining or regaining control of the Micay, both for the Colombian government and the illegal armed groups, is a priority.