BOGOTÁ, Colombia (BN24) — The Colombian army on Sunday reported that 57 of its soldiers were kidnapped in the country’s volatile southwest by civilians allegedly acting under coercion from dissident factions of the FARC, the defunct rebel group that once dominated Colombia’s long civil conflict.
Military officials said the mass abduction took place near El Plateado, a mountainous area in the department of Cauca, long regarded as a strategic corridor for cocaine production and trafficking. The army described the civilians’ actions as being carried out “under pressure and threats” from FARC dissidents who have refused to lay down arms despite a 2016 peace accord.
“This is not an isolated incident, but a sign of how dissident groups are using civilian populations as tools in their escalating campaign against the state,” a senior military official told local media, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the operation.
The Cauca region remains one of Colombia’s most contested zones, plagued by clashes between armed groups vying for control of lucrative drug routes, illegal mining operations, and local governance. Although the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) formally demobilized following the peace deal nearly a decade ago, numerous splinter factions have since emerged and continued to operate with impunity in remote parts of the country.
The army did not release detailed information on the conditions of the detained soldiers or efforts to secure their release, but said it was “coordinating a response” to de-escalate the crisis without further endangering the hostages or local residents.
