The Colombian Army has regained control of El Plateado, a strategic township in Cauca’s Argelia municipality, following a military operation to drive out the dissident FARC group Carlos Patiño, President Gustavo Petro announced on Saturday. The operation, codenamed Perseo, marks the most significant effort in years to reassert government authority in this mountainous region, long considered a corridor for narcotics trafficking.
The military deployment comes after more than five years of effective control by the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), a dissident faction of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). “By order of the President of the Republic, and after more than five years of EMC dominance, which turned the region into an international hub for cocaine, the army of the homeland, of Bolívar, Nariño, and Santander enters El Plateado,” Petro wrote on social media platform X. “Today, El Plateado is Colombia.”
Petro’s announcement was seen as a direct response to growing criticism that his “total peace” agenda has failed to curb violence in regions where illegal armed groups have surged with his administration. The president also emphasized that the military action would be followed by social investment in the region. “All the farmers in the Micay Canyon will be given, after the military operation, power in the region, seeds for legal production, and social assistance from the State,” Petro said.
Defense Minister Iván Velásquez confirmed that the Army and National Police successfully regained control of El Plateado during a large military operation that included helicopter gunships, tanks, and some 20 armored vehicles. Several members of the country’s security forces were injured after stepping on anti-personnel mines. “For around six years, the State had not had this territory under its command,” Velásquez said, calling the military operation a necessary step in restoring government authority.
Velásquez traveled to the region with other senior government ministers on Sunday as part of a broader strategy to bring institutional services to the approximately 8,000 residents of El Plateado. According to Velásquez, Operation Perseo resulted in at least 17 injuries, the majority of which were civilians, after an explosive device was launched from a drone allegedly operated by the Carlos Patiño front. Authorities said the attack reflected the growing sophistication of rebel forces operating in Colombia’s southwest.
Despite the intensity of the operation, the army faced little direct resistance, with many rebels retreating into civilian homes or fleeing, according to the Defense Ministry.
El Plateado, located in the biodiversity-rich Micay Canyon, has long been a focal point for Colombia’s drug trade, providing access routes for moving processed cocaine from the Putumayo to Pacific coast. The Canyon concentrates 75% of all coca plantations in the department of Cauca. The territory is also fiercely contested by illegal armed groups for its strategic value with illegal gold mining. The Carlos Patiño front, one of the largest within the EMC, actively recruits children for its rank-and-file.
The Ministry of Defense said that Operation Perseo aimed to capture the group’s top commanders, who are wanted for homicide and drug trafficking. While the Army has not confirmed whether any high-ranking dissidents were detained during the operation, officials stressed that the military presence in the region would be permanent to prevent the return of illegal armed groups. “This must benefit the population,” Velásquez said. “It’s not just about Security Forces taking control while the people are left without anything to do or living in fear.”
During the trip, ministers from Petro’s inner circle pledged to create a local council to discuss the region’s development, including the construction of the Micay Dam, which would provide energy to the local population and the Pacific Coast. “With the farmers, we will consult on the Micay dam, whose energy, if we build it, will go to the population of the region and the entire Pacific Coast for popular development,” Petro stated on X.
The major military offensive in Cauca comes a week before the start of the COP16 biodiversity summit in Cali, the capital of Valle del Cauca, where significant security measures have been put in place to protect visiting dignitaries. With the world’s attention focused on the high-profile event, despite the initial success of Operation Perseo in El Plateado, FARC dissidents attacked four other municipalities in the northern part of Cauca on Sunday, including Suárez, Corinto, Miranda, and Toribío.
The lastest incidents underscore the volatile security situation across Colombia’s southwest, even though, FARC dissident commander “Iván Mordisco” has said his organization will enact a unilateral truce during the biodiversity summit, but reserve the “right to respond” to military agression. Defense Minister Velásquez has vowed to maintain pressure on the EMC dissidents, but the long-term success of large-scale operations like Perseo remains uncertain given the surge in coca harvesting and cocaine production.
