Major blow to drug trafficking: National Army destroys lab containing more than one metric ton of cocaine hydrochloride in Guaviare

During military operations, troops from the National Army’s 33rd Rapid Deployment Battalion, in coordination with the National Police’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate, engaged in a firefight with alleged members of the Jhon Linares Structure, part of the Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc residual organized armed group, in the rural area of Caño Tigre of the municipality of San José del Guaviare, Guaviare. During the operation, a laboratory used for processing cocaine hydrochloride was located and destroyed.

At the site, more than one ton of cocaine hydrochloride (1,070 kg), 700 kg of coca base paste, as well as 900 kg of sodium chloride, 1,056 gallons of acetone, and 1,980 gallons of diesel fuel, all materials used in the production of the narcotic, were destroyed.

In addition, the troops rendered inoperable the infrastructure and equipment used for processing the drug, including microwave ovens, a press, a vacuum sealer, generators, washing machines, electric pumps, a heat extractor, a compressor, a filter, a weighing machine, and other items that were part of this illicit production chain.

The destruction of this illicit infrastructure significantly impacts the criminal finances of the GAO-r Jorge Suárez Briceño Bloc, with estimated losses of more than 6,000 million pesos, while preventing 2,675 million doses of cocaine hydrochloride from reaching consumer markets. This achievement helps weaken the drug trafficking chain and its associated effects, such as drug addiction, violence, and other forms of crime that affect thousands of families in Colombia and around the world.

With this result, the National Army continues to undermine the sources of funding for the remaining organized armed groups operating in southeastern Colombia, impairing their logistical and criminal capabilities, while reaffirming its commitment to protecting the civilian population, maintaining security, and waging a head-on fight against drug trafficking.