Colombian Army Removes Insurgency Flags as Part of Security Operation

OCTOBER 20, 2024 — The National Army of Colombia has carried out an operation in the town of El Plateado to dismantle flags of the National Liberation Army (ELN), as part of their efforts to counter insurgent groups operating in the area, reported El Heraldo.

In a statement shared on Twitter, the Army explained that these actions aim to disrupt any perceived associations between government forces and the ELN, as well as other insurgent groups like the Segunda Marquetalia. The Army clarified that such flags had been planted to create fear and confusion among the local population.

El Plateado, located in the biodiversity-rich Micay Canyon, has been a focal point of Colombia’s ongoing conflict, where multiple armed groups vie for control, driven largely by the drug trade in the region, according to The City Paper Bogota. The area serves as a critical route for trafficking processed cocaine from Putumayo to the Pacific coast.

The operation, named “Operation Perseo,” was launched in October to reassert state control over the town, which had been under the influence of Estado Mayor Central (EMC), a dissident faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), for the past five years. Alongside the ELN, both EMC and Segunda Marquetalia—also a FARC splinter group—continue to operate in the area. The ELN is officially designated as a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union, while Segunda Marquetalia has also been classified as a terrorist group by the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center due to its rejection of the 2016 peace agreement and return to armed conflict.

Image: El Heraldo

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