The Colombian authorities have reported the arrest of a leader of the guerrilla group National Liberation Army (ELN) during an operation carried out in the department of Cauca, in the west of the country. In the same intervention, a second suspect was arrested, in an action that the president of Colombia, Abelardo de la Espriella, has presented as a "blow" against this armed organization.
"Blow to the ELN in the Colombian Massif," De la Espriella has said in a message on social media, in which he specified that the security forces have detained "two narco-terrorists of the ELN, including alias 'El Flaco', identified as a leader of the commission of the Manuel Vásquez Castaño Front."
The head of state has indicated that 'El Flaco' "is linked to extortions, kidnappings, forced recruitment, and coercion against the population of the Colombian Massif," and has detailed that in the operation, weapons and ammunition were seized, in addition to "communication equipment, cash, and documents of interest."
"We continue hitting the ELN and protecting Colombians from their criminal actions. We are after their leaders, their weapons, their finances, and their support networks," he has said. "In Colombia, terrorists will not have a minute of peace," the president of the South American country has added.
In the same vein, the Ministry of Defense of Colombia has emphasized after the intervention, carried out in the El Roble district, that "the leaders of the ELN continue to fall." "In the Miracle Homeland, the bandits will not have a minute of peace," it has stressed in a statement disseminated on social media.
The Minister of Defense, Jorge Mora, has also described the operation as a "decisive blow to the ELN." "The message is for those who intend to sow terror among our citizens: they will not have a minute of peace. We are going to find them and bring them to justice!" he has reiterated.