The Minister of Defense, Iván Velásquez, stated this Sunday that the Government regained control of El Plateado, a town in the southwest of Colombia that was controlled by FARC dissidents, after six years, after a military operation carried out since early Saturday morning.
(Read: Petro sends part of his cabinet to El Plateado, after an Army operation).
“Control was really established in El Plateado, something that had not happened at least in the last six years. “It is a presence that will be permanent, but it is not only the presence of the public force in El Plateado, it is the presence of the Government as a whole to develop social programs.”Velásquez said in a press conference, after visiting this town in the department of Cauca.
President Gustavo Petro sent part of his cabinet to El Plateado, which is part of the municipality of Argelia, including ministers and directors of administrative departments after the operation launched on Saturday by the Army to regain control that the group has in the area. Carlos Patiño, of the Central General Staff (EMC), the largest dissident of the FARC.
Successful operation
For ‘Operation Perseus’ the military is using “special units, aircraft and artillery capabilities” such as tanks. Likewise, the authorities published wanted posters for seven leaders of the Carlos Patiño group, including its top boss, Anderson Andrey Vargas Suns, alias ‘Kevin’.
In that sense, they have managed to arrest two alleged members of the Carlos Patiño, as well as seized “rifles, ammunition and explosive devices.”
According to the Army, several dissidents have also died in this operation. In total, more than 1,400 soldiers have arrived in the area since yesterday with the aim of guaranteeing the security of the more than 8,000 people who live in El Plateado, which for several years has been one of the strongholds of the EMC faction. led by alias ‘Iván Mordisco’ and who is not in peace negotiations with the Government.
El Plateado is in the Micay Canyon area, key for drug trafficking because it is a step on the drug route that leaves Colombia through the Pacific. For this reason, its inhabitants live in constant anxiety due to the attacks committed by this armed group and due to clashes with the Army.
In response to ‘Operation Perseus’, the dissidents launched drones with explosives against the village, an attack that left more than a dozen troops and civilians injured.
Gustavo Petro and his cabinet.
EFE – Presidency of Colombia
Comprehensive proposal
The Minister of Defense assured this Sunday that during the visit they spoke with “hundreds of people” who expressed their concern because the Government “is coming to destroy coca” and “is going to leave them starving, without work.”
“There is a whole project to transform the territory, which is in agreement with the community”Velásquez emphasized and for that reason he was accompanied, among others, the Ministers of the Environment, Susana Muhamad; Mines and Energy, Andrés Camacho; Information and Communications Technologies, Mauricio Lizcano; Health, Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, and Agriculture, Martha Carvajalino.
The goal, for now, is “stabilize the territory: we are in a territory that is no secret that Carlos Patiño has had control of.”
“We are going to remove them from this territory and this must generate a benefit (…) the fear they feel now is natural, in addition, this criminal group has thrown grenades against the population, it has attacked the population,” he concluded.
EFE
