BOGOTÁ, March 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Colombia’s defense minister said that the military would meet a leftist insurgency near the Venezuelan border with “full force,” vowing to reassert territorial control as soon as possible.
Newly appointed minister Pedro Sanchez said in an interview that the threat from the ELN guerrilla group “will be met with the legitimate full force of the state, to defend Colombians.”
ELN guerrillas currently control a swathe of land near the Venezuelan border, where fighting has displaced about 56,000 people.
In a recent interview, ELN commanders vowed to repel a government counteroffensive and said years of “total peace” risk turning into “total war.”
Sanchez dismissed the ELN as a “narco-criminal group” and vowed they would be met with “full force.”
He also pledged to retake a major coca-growing region in the south of the country, a virtual microstate run by the Estado Mayor Central (Central General Staff).
Sanchez admitted retaking territory was a “wicked problem,” but said it would be achieved.
“We’re going to have to make a lot of sacrifice, we’re even going to have tears, but in the end, we’re going to achieve it.”
Sanchez warned Donald Trump’s administration against blacklisting his country for failing to curb drug exports, saying the decision would bring yet more cocaine to the United States.
Washington is currently weighing whether to “decertify” Colombia as a partner in the battle against drugs, a move that could restrict millions in US military aid and be a hammer blow to Colombia’s reputation.
He said decertification would mean “we simply lose the ability to contain the threat.”
“Not being able to contain it would go against the interests of the United States. Because more cocaine would arrive and the United States would not be stronger, more prosperous, or safer.”
“Fracturing relations and cooperation between our states is an opportunity for drug trafficking,” Sanchez insisted.
Colombia has launched a diplomatic offensive to avoid blacklisting ahead of a September US review.
But many officials are privately pessimistic that blacklisting can be avoided, putting at risk nearly half a billion dollars in annual US funding. — NNN-AGENCIES