Two men and a woman, along with a minor, who were under pressure of the residual Organized Armed Group (GAO-R) Estructura Primera, under the command of alias Iván Mordisco, asked the soldiers of the Twenty-Second Brigade for protection.
In the course of a territorial control operation on the village of Caño Giriza, in the municipality of Miraflores, Guaviare, and due to the pressure exerted by troops of the Twenty-Second Jungle Brigade, of the Fourth Division of the National Army, the voluntary surrender of three people and the recovery of a minor, who would be part of the first structure, was achieved. They had in their possession stubs with which they would be collecting money from extortion to merchants and residents of the region.
Among these people was a woman who would have been in charge of the radio of the finance group of this illegal organization, and who would have been in charge of communications and acquisition of economic resources through extortion. The other two men would have been in charge of the forced recruitment of minors, coercion and threats to civilians, through the collection of money from extortion to traders and ranchers. They would identified the new expansion zones, with presence in Unilla, Itilla and Vaupés rivers, and in the municipalities of Calamar and Miraflores, Guaviare.
Besides the surrenders of these three persons, who voluntarily decided to submit to the justice, the recovery of a minor was achieved, who was left to be looked after the Colombian Institute of Family Wellbeing (ICBF) to initiate the process of restoration of their rights. This is a situation that confirms the acts of armed groups that forcibly take children and young people in the region.
According to intelligence information, this group would be no longer receiving monthly USD $524,000, so plans for territorial expansion are stopped. There is also a decline in the forced recruitment of minors.
At the time of their presentation, these people informed the National Army of their intentions to rejoin civil society and start a new life with their family and under the law, receiving the support of the Humanitarian Assistance Group for the Demobilized, led by the National Government.
During their demobilization, these individuals had in their possession important war material, accessories, military and communications, such as: 3 rifles, more than 800 cartridges of various calibers, vendors for rifle, 25 grenades, equipment, radios, detonating cord for improvised explosive devices, books for collection of money from extortion and important documents for military intelligence.
National Army hit once again the armed and economic structure of the GAO-R Estructura Primera, and gives reassurance in the region.
Source: National Army News Agency
