This disruption was achieved by locating facilities used for the illegal processing of drugs, where nearly two tons of cocaine were seized; this prevents approximately 1,972,000 doses from entering circulation.
The Command Against Drug Trafficking and Transnational Threats (CONAT), in joint operations with the Colombian Aerospace Force and in coordination with the National Police’s Anti-Narcotics Directorate (DIRAN), located two coca-growing complexes in the departments of Norte de Santander and Nariño, valued at 12,869 million pesos.
The military operations, which significantly disrupted the finances of the ELN organized armed group (GAO) and the residual organized armed group (GAO-r), were initially carried out in the rural area of Puerto Nuevo, in San José de Cúcuta, Norte de Santander. There, troops from the 2nd Anti-Narcotics Brigade discovered a laboratory for the production of illicit substances, consisting of three structures and valued at 7,645 million pesos.
At this clandestine facility, believed to belong to the ELN GAO's Reinaldo Ardila Gómez Urban Front, authorities seized 1,042 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, 418 gallons of cocaine hydrochloride in suspension, 65 kilograms of cocaine base paste, and 330 gallons of N-propyl acetate, as well as equipment and machinery necessary for narcotics production.
In a second military operation, soldiers from the No. 1 Anti-Narcotics Brigade located another illegal facility used for drug production in the rural area of Peña de los Santos, in San Andrés de Tumaco, Nariño; this facility is believed to be part of the illegal finances of the Iván Ríos Structure GAO-r.
At this illegal facility, valued at 5,224 million pesos, authorities found 930 kilograms of cocaine hydrochloride, 600 kilograms of potassium permanganate, and 3,430 gallons of acetone, as well as machinery used in cocaine processing.
Based on military intelligence, it was determined that these two coca-growing complexes had a production capacity of nearly two tons of cocaine per month, a substance that would subsequently be smuggled out of the country through illegal ports on the Colombian Pacific and Caribbean coasts, bound for Central America and the United States.
The Colombian National Army will continue to carry out military operations aimed at further weakening the logistical and financial infrastructure of criminal organizations in the country. It will also work to ensure the peace and well-being of local communities.
