Fifty-seven Colombian soldiers who had been detained by locals in a guerrilla-run region were released unharmed on Monday, authorities confirmed.
The troops had been captured over the weekend while conducting operations in a cocaine-producing enclave in the southwest of the country. According to officials, two groups of soldiers were detained during the mission.
“Our 57 military personnel are free,” the Ministry of Defence announced in a post on social media.
In Colombia’s conflict-affected areas, illegal armed groups often instruct local civilians to obstruct the movement of security forces. In such situations, soldiers and police officers are frequently held for several hours before being released, usually following the involvement of human rights organisations.
The government reported that over 20 people had been detained during what it described as a “rescue” operation.
The army maintains that the farmers involved were acting under orders from the Central General Staff (EMC), the largest faction of FARC dissidents who refused to sign the 2016 peace accord with the then-government.
President Gustavo Petro has spent months attempting to secure military control over a key canyon in the region.
In March, residents of the same area briefly detained 28 police officers and one soldier; they were freed two days later.
Colombia is currently facing its most severe security crisis in a decade. Earlier this month, the EMC claimed responsibility for a series of bomb and gun attacks across the southwest, which left seven people dead.
President Petro has made repeated efforts to negotiate peace with the EMC, but talks have broken down after its leader, known as “Iván Mordisco,” abandoned the negotiations.
