In the context of the commemoration of 4 April, the International Anti-Personnel Mine Awareness Day, The Office of the High Commissioner for peace and the National Army are making every effort to eradicate the problem of anti-personnel mines and improvised explosive devices of the national territory.
According to the Office of the High Commissioner for peace, from 2002 to 31 March 6,502 military and 4,216 civilians had been victims of anti-personnel mines.
One of them is Captain Carlos Andrés Ortiz Rosero, 40 years old, who was the victim of these devices and, as a consequence, lost his left foot; the events took place on August 10, 2010 while carrying out Patrol work in rural San Vicente Del Caguán, Caquetá.
The officer says that the incident took place when he was traveling with his soldiers to find members of the mobile column Teófilo Forero of the former organized armed group Farc.
“As a commander I made the decision to break the jungle; I'm leaving with two soldiers, including the canine guide. He checks a little forward and returns. I decided to continue, I went ahead; when we were finishing leaving the jungle, I activated the Anti-Personnel Mine”, recalls Captain Ortiz, with sadness on his face, he makes a pause and continues with his story.
After the loud explosion and in the midst of the chaos, the officer says “I was stunned, I heard voices, but I could not react, I fell into the crater left by the mine and I could hear a soldier who shouted: They Killed My lieutenant. I don't know how long I lasted there. When I reacted I said: no, I am alive."
After this, the captain was assisted by the combat nurse while he waited with a heavy pain in his body for the helicopter that was going to transport him initially to a healthcare center in San Vicente Del Caguán.
In that Medical Center, the captain was received surgical wash to be subsequently transferred in an ambulance aircraft to the Military Hospital of Oriente in Villavicencio, where he was surgically intervened.
To date, the Colombian State has liberated 253 municipalities with humanitarian demining operations thanks to its 7 operators and external monitoring components. The Humanitarian Demining Brigade of the National Army has liberated 229 of the 253 and works in 25 departments of the country.
Through military demining and humanitarian demining operations, the National Army has benefited more than 19 million Colombians.
From 2005 to 2021, the soldiers involved in this operation have prevented 4,168 anti-personnel mines, 988 unexploded ordnance and 1,466 improvised explosive devices from being activated by soldiers or peasants; this means that, in this time, about 6,622 lives of Colombians have been saved.
The Army's humanitarian demining began to carried out operations in 2016 with the demining Engineers Battalion No. 60; it was reinforced in 2016 with the creation of the Humanitarian Demining engineers Brigade No. 1, composed of six demining battalions and the demining battalion No. 60. Thus, with seven tactical units, the National Army continues to work with its commitment for a Colombia free of suspected anti-personnel mines.
The Office of the High Commissioner for peace and the Humanitarian Demining brigade continue to work to make our country a mine-free territory.
