Colombia’s Ministry of Defense has ordered a major security overhaul in the northeastern town of Ocaña after a drone attack blamed on the ELN guerrilla group killed three soldiers on a Friday night. The strike targeted the El Trapiche military post using explosive-rigged drones, and the ensuing firefight claimed the lives of Captain Marco David Pirajón Montezuma and soldiers Joel Alberto Jiménez Jaramillo and Jhon Carlo Marrugo Manjarrez.
The following day, top military and police officials, along with the governor of Norte de Santander department, met in Ocaña for an emergency security council. Their goal: rethink how security forces confront the ELN in a region that serves as a key gateway to Catatumbo, an area long plagued by conflict and drug trafficking near the Venezuelan border.
Three measures emerged from the meeting. First, officials will relaunch and restructure a joint military-police campaign called ‘Esparta,’ relocating its command center to Ocaña to better coordinate operations. Second, authorities will tighten control over transit routes connecting southern Cesar department to Ocaña—corridors armed groups have used to move fighters, weapons, and explosives. Third, the government will activate a new intelligence hub, the Integrated Territorial Intelligence and Counterintelligence Center (CICOT), to pool information from multiple security agencies and support prosecutions.
Officials say the changes reflect the strategic importance of Ocaña as a corridor into Catatumbo, a region increasingly central to Colombia’s ongoing conflict with the ELN.
To read the full original report in Spanish, visit El Tiempo.
Source: Las tres medidas que tomó el Mindefensa tras el ataque con drones que dejó tres militares muertos en Ocaña (eltiempo.com). English version produced with AI assistance.
Image: Jnyssen.