Army freed a teenager kidnapped by the ELN in Norte de Santander

A new forced recruitment was thwarted by the timely actions of the uniformed members of the National Army, who were able to rescue a teenager who was in captivity by members of the narco-terrorist group ELN, who sought to compulsorily integrate him into their criminal structure.

The teenager was taken from his house in Norte de Santander by deception, allegedly the criminals had arrived telling the young man that they were looking for an acquaintance of him, and then kidnapped him and taken to different places in Catatumbo, until he ended up in a village in the municipality of Teorema, where he was rescued by the military authorities.

The commander of the Thirtieth Army Brigade, Colonel Cesar Karán, “Our Military Gaula Norte de Santander, after receiving the call for help from this minor who was abducted in the district of San Pablo, they managed to get his release, after three armed men arrived at his house and he was released to the Catatumbo stating that they were part of the Organized Armed Group ELN and that they came from a person close to the minor,” the Colonel said.

Colonel Karán said that thanks to the joint action between the uniformed and the teenager who contacted them and was aware of the indications, they managed to find their whereabouts. “Once the call was received, all military and judicial devices were activated, so that it was located where the minor was hiding. In an oversight of the captors, the minor managed to escape from a house, where he was being held. And following the instructions of the troops, their location was achieved,” said the commander of the Thirtieth Brigade.

Later, the young man was handed over back to his family, although he also made himself available to the authorities to identify and reach those responsible for this forced kidnapping-recruitment, in order to prevent further events of this kind in the department.

According to what the military authorities in the different border regions have been experiencing problems with the forced recruitment they are doing to different children, adolescents and young people, research indicates that Venezuelans and low-income boys are the usual victims of these groups organized armed forces.

On more actions by the Public Forces in the department of Norte de Santander: The Army destroyed explosives depot allegedly belonging to FARC dissidents.

In the village of La Angalia in the municipality of Tibú, uniformed members of the National Army revealed that they destroyed an explosives warehouse, allegedly owned by the 33rd Front of the FARC dissidents.

The soldiers were carrying out coca eradication actions in the rural area of the department of Norte de Santander when they detected the explosive ordnance, 180 anti-personnel mines that were in unnoticeable places.

Regarding this, the commander of the Norte de Santander Specific Command, General Fabio Caro said: “It should be noted that our specialist men from the EXDE explosives and demolitions group achieved the controlled destruction of this important illegal depot with anti-personnel mines, which would be used by members of the organization criminal Gaor-e33, to indiscriminately affect our men and the civilian population that daily transit the tertiary roads of this region”.

The explosives were to be used to fuel the violence suffered by border departments. So far this year alone in Norte de Santander the authorities have deactivated 1,200 explosive devices.

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