Four military men were killed on Friday in the north Colombia during a battle with members of the Clan del Golfo gang, which is mainly involved in drug trafficking, the armed forces said.
The soldiers were the target of an attack during a mission to protect the population in the rural sector of Segovia, on the border of the provinces of Antioquia and Bolivar, the army clarified via X (the former Twitter). “We condemn the heinous killing of our professional soldiers,” he underlined.
A member of the gang was also killed during the fightthe Colombian military added.
Seven other military personnel – an officer, two non-commissioned officers and four soldiers – were injured and are in stable condition. in a hospital in Barrancavermeja, Santander province, according to the same source.
The Clan del Golfo gang battles for control of northern areas of the country with other outlaw organizations, notably the ELN (Army of National Liberation, Guberrists), officially the last active rebel organization continuing the armed struggle, and dissident factions of the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), the largest far-left rebel organization that was disarmed, disbanded and transformed into a political party by virtue of a 2016 peace agreement.
“Military operations are continuing in the area to arrest the perpetrators and protect the communities”the Colombian army also emphasized.
A reincarnation of a far-right paramilitary group, Clan del Golfo has more than 4,000 fighters, according to the Colombian military's intelligence service.
In addition to trafficking cocaine, a drug of which Colombia is the world's largest producer, the gang also allegedly controls crossing points for migrants hoping to reach the US by crossing the Darien jungle on the Colombia-Panama border.
Its former leader, Dairo Antonio Usuga, also known by the nickname “Othoniel”, was sentenced in August to serve 45 years in prison for drug trafficking by a US federal court, where he will be extradited in 2022.
Source: News Beast
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