The military operations that hit 7 substructures of this illegal group were carried out in the departments of Antioquia, Córdoba and Chocó.
As a result of the permanent work and the continuous joint, coordinated and inter-institutional operations carried out by the Seventh Division of the National Army with the Air Force, the Colombian Navy, the National Police and the Attorney General's Office, within the framework of the Ayacucho Plan, important results were reported against the organized armed group, GAO, Clan del Golfo, in the northwest of the country.
In the first operation carried out by soldiers of the Fourth Brigade in the village of Finlandia, municipality of Ituango, in the department of Antioquia, three alleged members of the Edwin Román Velásquez Valle Substructure died during the military operation and another was arrested. Four rifles, abundant war material and military accessories were found by troops. In a rural area of the same municipality, another individual was brought to justice.
In another military operation in the rural area of the Antioquia municipality of Frontino, soldiers reported the arrest of alias Caquetá, the alleged ringleader of this Substructure. 2 mining production units and 2 backhoes were disabled at the site, which hit the finances of this organized armed group by approximately 2,300 million pesos. In the operation a 9 mm caliber pistol, 15 cartridges, a communication equipment and material of military accessories were seized.
Meanwhile, soldiers of the Fourteenth Brigade arrived at the village of El Cinco, in the municipality of Vegachí, where they reported the arrest of four alleged members of the Jorge Iván Arboleda Garcés Substructure, including alias Ányelo, who according to the investigations would be the ringleader of the zone, with an area of interference in the municipalities of Yolombó, Yali and Vegachí.
Those arrested, who were put into custody of the authorities, had with them war and communications materiel, cell phone equipment and about 2 million pesos in cash.
In the third military operation, soldiers of the Seventeenth Brigade reported the arrest of another individual who would be part of the Juan de Dios Úsuga Substructure, accused of being in charge of coordinating and logistically linking drug movements inside and outside the country. This operation was carried out by members of the Military Forces in the urban area of the municipality of Turbo, in the Urabá region in the department of Antioquia.
The arrested man had a 9 mm caliber Glock pistol, 19 cartridges for it and about 8 million pesos in cash.
In another military operation, this time in the rural area of the municipality of Ciénaga de Oro, in the department of Córdoba, soldiers of the Eleventh Brigade arrested two alleged members of the Javier Yepes Cantero Substructure, known by the alias Camilo and alias Adri, who would be part of the focused criminal component of this illegal group.
During the arrest procedure, a firearm, an IM26 hand grenade and two cell phone equipment were seized. These two people will have to face charges of manufacturing, trafficking, carrying or possessing firearms and ammunition, and extortion.
In the same way, in the rural area of the municipality of Alto Baudó, in the department of Chocó, soldiers of the Joint Task Force Titan arrested three alleged members of the Baudó substructure, of the Clan de Golfo, including alias Vive 100, the head of the zone and of finance, and the brother of alias Firuláis, the main ringleader of the illegal group. In the same way, in the municipalities of Carmen del Darién, Riosucio and Quibdó, in the same department, two alleged members of the Pablo José Montalvo Cuitiva Substructure and another one of the Heroes de Jesús Carretera Substructure were brought to justice.
This operation is complemented by another heavy loss that the Military forces caused over the weekend against this illegal group, in a rural area of the municipality of Medio Baudó, in the department of Chocó, where there was a firefight against a group that was carrying out criminal operations, such as forced displacement, drug trafficking, extortion, illegal recruitment of minors, illegal exploitation of mining sites, confinement and homicides, among others.
With these last three individuals who surrendered to the soldiers, there are already 23 members of this organized armed group who have surrendered so far in 2023 to justice in the department of Chocó.
Source: Press - Seventh Division of the National Army
