Colombian security forces face deadly surge in attacks

BOGOTA, Colombia

At least 27 Colombian police and military personnel have been killed in attacks carried out in different parts of the country in the last two weeks, President Gustavo Petro said Tuesday, attributing the deaths to the Clan del Golfo crime gang.

"The Clan del Golfo, in response to the fall of several of its leaders, has decided to kill the children of the people. This has led to the murder of 27 police and military personnel," Petro said on his X account.

He specifically referred to this systematic targeting as a “plan pistola” or "pistol plan," which involves the indiscriminate killing of police officers and military personnel, even when they are off-duty or on family leave. It was previously employed in the 1990s by cocaine lord Pablo Escobar, who offered payment for each uniformed officer killed as part of the war he declared against the Colombian state.

A list published by Petro of 15 police officers and 12 military personnel killed since April 15 included seven soldiers who were ambushed last Sunday in the Charras area of ​​the Guaviare department in the southern-central region of the country. The list of murdered police officers also includes four who were off-duty and one who was on leave.

The murders of security force members on their days off are compounded by numerous attacks targeting police stations and military installations.

"We will not back down. We will intensify the offensive against the Clan. They have no escape route. Either they abandon their illicit activities and reintegrate into the process of regional prosperity under the rule of law and democracy, or a global alliance is strengthened to destroy the Gulf Clan," Petro said.

The president said the authorities have inflicted several blows against the Gulf Clan's organizational structure and announced further actions.

"These simultaneous operations targeting multiple substructures confirm that they have no refuge. We are present on their routes, within their command zones, and in the streets where they seek to intimidate. The Gulf Clan may attempt to hide, but they will not evade justice. The State is confronting them, and the communities deserve to live in peace," he asserted.

On Friday, however, Interior Minister Armando Benedetti acknowledged the difficulties facing President Petro's peace policy, saying it "has not gone well."

The country is currently experiencing its worst surge in violence since the signing of a 2016 peace agreement with the FARC guerrilla group, occurring amid stalled negotiations between the government and illegal armed groups in the country.

Colombia is estimated to have approximately 22,000 drug traffickers and armed rebels. The nation's internal conflict has resulted in nearly 10 million victims over the past six decades.