Three people were captured, including two ringleaders and a minor of age, said to belong to the Alfonso Cano substructure.
In a coordinated, joint and inter-institutional operation carried out in the village of El Limón, municipality of Gaitania, Municipality of Planadas, troops of the military Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) of Tolima, of the Sixth Brigade, with the specialized prosecutor against criminal organizations, the Air Combat Command No.4 and the National Police, the capture of three individuals, among them, two ringleaders, and a minor, said to belong to the Alfonso Cano substructure that commits crimes in the south of Tolima, was possible.
This Guerrilla Front has affiliation to the residual organized armed group, GAO-r, Second Marquetalia that incursion at the end of 2019, in the south of the department, with the intention of expanding its armed resources, framed in extortion activities, Criminal Intelligence and recruitment of personnel, including minors. It is important to highlight that they support the strategic direction of the ringleaders alias Iván Márquez and Jesús Santrich, who intend to unite all their structures towards the center of the country.
The military operation resulted in a significant blow to the command and control subsystem of the GAO-R Segunda Marquetalia, achieving the capture of two individuals who would be important ringleaders for the retake of historical areas of the extinct FARC in the Cordillera Central.
According to the authorities, alias Carlos, former member of the extinct Farc, in 2013, was captured for the offence of freight and traffic of firearms, in 2019 he joined the GAO-r in the Front Alfonso Cano, and he was appointed as a member of the group; then, in 2020, he was appointed ringleader of the armed group and, currently, he would be conducting constraint to the civilians in the different municipalities of southern Tolima.
Alias Fabián, former member of the extinct Farc, in 2019, joined the GAO-R front Alfonso Cano as head of the Finance Group, currently he would be in charge of the illicit collection of money for this structure, through the collection of extortion fees to wealthy inhabitants of the rural and urban area of the different municipalities of the south of the Department.
Alias José, in 2019, entered the GAO-R front Alfonso Cano as a member of the component networks of support to residual structures (RAER), apparently fulfilling Criminal Intelligence functions in the rural and urban area of the different municipalities of the south of Tolima, to carry out armed proselytizing activities, select targets to extort and conduct Criminal Intelligence.
Similarly, in the operation, the troops found a rifle R15 5.56 mm, 6 magazines for rifle R15, a revolver 38mm, a shotgun 12mm, a traumatic rifle, 2 cartridges 7.62 mm, 396 cartridges 5.56 mm, 8 cartridges 38 mm, 5 blanks, 5 capsules 12mm, 10 cell phones, 2 radios Motorola, a SIM-Card, 3 usb sticks, a kilogram of marijuana, 2 multipurpose vests, a camouflaged suit type desert, 2 hammocks, 2 agendas, 200 documents of census for the collection of money from extortion, a case, 2 bills of exchange for 2 million pesos each, and about 200 pamphlets alluding to the Alfonso Cano substructure.
The 200 leaflets apparently were to be distributed to different victims of the municipality of Planadas and Rioblanco, in order to intimidate and extort the inhabitants with a sum of money ranging from 5 to 20 million pesos.
Those captured and the material were put into custody of the prosecutor's office 164, for the crimes of association to commit crimes with extortion purposes, carrying and trafficking firearms for the exclusive use of the military forces. On the other hand, the minor was put into custody of the Colombian Institute of Family Wellbeing.
This important operational result helps to counteract the factors of instability, illicit activities and possible attacks against the life and personal freedom of the inhabitants of Tolima.
Source: National Army News Agency
