The Colombian daily El Tiempo reports that elements of the Colombian Army, Police and Air Force carried out a joint operation early Monday morning, killing thirteen insurgents and capturing two more, all members of the FARC’s 48th Front.
The Front, which operates near the country’s border with Ecuador, is central to the organization’s drug trafficking operations, and allegedly sells processed cocaine to the Juarez and Tijuana Cartels.
In a statement released by the Colombian Military, Defense Minister Rodrigo Rivera described the attack as “a very sensitive blow to one of the most important structures of the FARC in the south of the country.” The operation began with a targeted bombing of a campsite near the small town of Ipiales, followed by an Army helicopter raid of the area.
Such coordination of intelligence between the various branches of Colombian is becoming routine in Colombia, illustrating the government’s increasing ability to pinpoint and inflict heavy casualties on the insurgency.
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